Let’s briefly go back in time and review why preschool services make sense. More than half a century ago, the federal government launched an experimental, eight-week summer program that it called “Project Head Start.” A component of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s “War on Poverty,” Head Start was designed to help break the cycle of poverty by providing preschool children of low income families a free comprehensive program that would meet not only their educational needs, but their emotional, social, health, nutritional, and psychological needs, as well.

This program proved so exceptional that President Johnson specifically cited it for commendation during a speech in the White House Rose Garden on August 31, 1965. It was during that same speech that the President announced that “Project Head Start” would be permanently funded by the federal government.

Since it was launched, the Head Start “experiment” has evolved into a premier preschool model that has been replicated throughout the nation and in other countries. Its forward-looking, optimistic philosophy and award-winning curricula have earned it accolades from educators, childcare and mental health professionals, and, perhaps most importantly, parents. More than 1,000,000 children are enrolled in Head Start programs across the country.