OP-ED: Do not dismantle what gives children a head start
For more than 30 years, I have had the privilege of serving as a registered dietitian and consultant to Head Start programs in Fayette, Washington, and Greene counties. I have worked alongside teachers, cooks, family service workers, health professionals, and administrators. Most importantly, I have been welcomed into the lives of thousands of children and families.
When I look back on my career, many of my greatest professional accomplishments — and much of what has made me proudest to be a dietitian — can be traced directly to my experience with Head Start.
Recently, during a job interview, an applicant mentioned that one of her earliest memories of learning about healthy eating came from Head Start. She remembered MyPlate and the meals she ate there. MyPlate has now been replaced with an inverted pyramid which is hard for preschoolers to understand.
I am praying Head Start will not be replaced with something as inferior in the name of “flexibility.”
The recently proposed changes to the national Head Start program would substantially deregulate it. They would weaken national requirements for teacher qualifications and teacher-to-child ratios and remove many of the more than 100 performance standards that have helped ensure every child receives a true head start. Requirements related to health services — such as dental care, vision screenings, immunizations, and even daily toothbrushing practices — would no longer be protected in the same way.
As a health professional, those changes concern me deeply.
But the most important reason to preserve Head Start goes far beyond health regulations. To understand it, we must go back hundreds of thousands of years.
Humans have extraordinarily large brains compared with other animals. But there is a tradeoff. Because our brains are so large and continue developing for many years after birth (another very important reason to keep Head Start the same), human babies are born remarkably dependent. A newborn foal can stand and walk within hours. A human infant cannot feed itself, protect itself, or survive without adults for an extended time.
That dependence is not a flaw. It is part of what made us human.
Our large brains gave us language, creativity, empathy, and the ability to solve problems together. But they also required something else: communities willing to care for children during the long years when their brains are growing.
Human children were never meant to develop alone.
For thousands of generations, children were surrounded by parents, grandparents, relatives, and neighbors who helped feed them, teach them, protect them, and prepare them for life. Modern society has changed, but children’s biology has not. Their brains still need nurturing relationships, nutritious food, health care, safe environments, and skilled adults during the years when development is happening fastest.
That is what Head Start provides.
Head Start is not simply preschool. It is a modern expression of one of humanity’s oldest and most important responsibilities: investing in children before they can advocate for themselves.
A teacher notices when a child is struggling to communicate. A family service worker helps a parent find housing or transportation. A health screening catches a vision problem before it interferes with learning. A dental referral prevents pain and infection. A nutritious meal may be the healthiest food a child eats that day. A classroom with appropriate teacher-to-child ratios gives each child the attention they need to feel safe and ready to learn.
These services are not extras. They are the foundation upon which learning is built.
Over the years, I have seen children arrive shy, hungry, or developmentally behind and leave Head Start more confident, healthier, and eager to learn. I have watched families become partners in their children’s education. I have seen staff members go far beyond their job descriptions because they understand that a child’s success depends on much more than teaching letters and numbers.
The national standards were created because communities across the country recognized that every child deserves these opportunities-not just children whose families happen to have access to them.
Of course, Head Start should continue to evolve. Programs should always seek better ways to serve children and families. Regulations should be reviewed thoughtfully, and unnecessary bureaucracy should be addressed. But improving a program is very different from removing the guardrails that have protected children for decades.
The question should not be how little we can require. It should be how much we value the children entrusted to us.
For more than 60 years, Head Start has reflected a simple but profound belief: A child’s future should not be determined by the circumstances into which they were born.
That belief is worth preserving.
Our children still have the same large, developing brains that humans have had for hundreds of thousands of years. They are still dependent on adults to provide the relationships, nutrition, health care, safety, and encouragement that allow those brains to reach their potential.
We would never tell a newborn that independence is more important than care. We should not tell a 3- or 4-year-old that fewer protections are somehow better.
Head Start has given generations of children exactly what its name promises-a beginning with more opportunity, more support, and more hope.
As someone whose career has been shaped by the families and staff of Head Start in Fayette, Washington, and Greene counties, I hope we have the wisdom to strengthen that legacy rather than dismantle it.
Children only get one childhood. They deserve a true head start.
Judy Siebart is a registered dietitian who has served as a consultant to Head Start programs in Fayette, Washington, and Greene counties for more than 30 years.