¿Puerto Rico? ¡Sí, por favor!

Bienvenidos from the Region II Head Start Professional Development Conference in sunny Puerto Rico! Well, actually the conference ended yesterday and I’m back in New York, but I brought the greetings with me. The conference was an amazing opportunity and I still can’t believe I got to attend. Every day I went to fabulous trainings and seminars on various topics pertaining to running a successful Head Start program. It was like a crash course in everything Head Start. Furthermore, I was able to meet Head Start directors, staff, teachers, and parents from all of Region II. For four days we met in groups to discuss our programs’ strengths and weaknesses. We exchanged stories, ideas, and resources and worked together to find solutions to our problems. It was an amazing time to spend collaborating with colleagues towards a greater purpose.

Unfortunately some of this camaraderie was spoiled at the closing ceremony when we all learned that President Obama had announced new regulations on Head Start programs. The regulations state that if a Head Start program fails to meet certain quality standards they will have to compete for funding, with the losing programs being forced to cut slots or even close down. The entire conference was in a tizzy over this announcement and before we knew exactly what was going on it sort of felt like a grenade went off in the conference hall. After we had time to come to a full understanding of the new regulations, we realized that some of our panic was unwarranted because in and of themselves, these regulations are not a bad thing for Head Start. They will motivate poorly performing programs to get their act together, thus leading to better education for their students. If some programs are unable to make the cut, then they need to be cut so we are making the most of our taxpayers’ money. Fair enough.

In terms of the big picture, however, these regulations are worrisome because they signal a change in the attitude towards Head Start. In some ways these regulations are a warning that if the Head Start program cannot clearly demonstrate that it is effectively doing its job to close the poverty gap, it will be on the federal budget cut chopping board. I don’t believe that we need to worry because every day I see that Head Start is making a huge difference in the lives of the families we serve. Unfortunately, there is another audience that needs to be convinced if we want to continue our work. I’m confident though that Head Start can rise to the occasion.