Head Start: A Legacy Worth Protecting

On August 7, the White House released a proposed rule (NPRM) that would change the standards governing Head Start. The proposal could increase classroom sizes, lower teacher qualification standards, weaken protections and supports for children with disabilities, and add paperwork barriers for families experiencing homelessness. These are not abstract regulatory changes. They affect real children, families, and communities. In New York, Head Start and Early Head Start serve nearly 40,000 children. In many rural communities, it's one of the few dependable early learning options there is. Liftoff convened Patricia (Patty) Persell, NYS Head Start Collaboration Director, Dr. Marie A. Cannon, MSW, President and CEO of Community Action Organization of Western New York and Renee M. Hungerford, Executive Director/CEO/CIO of Community Action of Orleans and Genese for an important discussion. By OCTOBER 2nd: If you are within the philanthropic sector as a funder or grant maker, our partners at the national Early Childhood Funder's Collaborative have an opportunity to join a unified public comment: https://ecfunders.org/sign-on-to-publ... BY OCTOBER 6th: Submit a public comment OPPOSING the proposed rule changes- https://www.federalregister.gov/docum... Need guidance? Check out this resource guide from CAOGINC: https://www.caoginc.org/help-protect-... Encourage your policy makers to use their voice to protect Head Start's legacy: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/urg... Thank you to our facilitator and speakers: Rachel Bonsignore https://liftoffwny.org/ Patty Persell https://ccf.ny.gov/head-start/ Dr. Marie Cannon https://www.caowny.org/ Renee Hungerford https://www.caoginc.org/