Supporting National Head Start Association Accomplishments

As a long-time supporter of the National Head Start Association (NHSA), we would like to share a portion of a recent email from the Association that provided information on current media attention regarding their achievements.

Right now, there is a growing realization among business leaders and policy makers that investment in early childhood is key to the future success of our nation. There is also a greater understanding of the importance in the development of character of the first five years of life and a greater appreciation of the long term benefits to society from investing in high quality programs such as Head Start and Early Head Start. In recent weeks, national media coverage has made mention of Head Start repeatedly. We have always seen the value of the work we do, but it’s exciting to see others sit up and take note! We wanted to share some stories with you that you may enjoy and that may be useful to you in educating others in your community about Head Start.

The following are a selection of links to articles provided in the Head Start email.

Occupy the Classroom - Nicholas Kristof for the New York Times

From Kindergarten to College Completion - Judith Scott-Clayton for the New York Times’ Economix Blog

It Takes a Village - Charles M. Blow for the New York Times

ATI supports NHSA in several ways. One is the development of the Galileo Pre-K Online Portrait of Child Outcomes. This is a broad array of Head Start programs representing several states that have joined together for several years to create and share important stories about themselves and about children's accomplishments. The Portrait of Child Outcomes has been used by NHSA in making presentations nationwide documenting the contributions of Head Start to early childhood learning. We are privileged to have the opportunity to bring their story to you, click here.

We also support Head Start by continuously enhancing the tools offered to meet the changing needs of the program . For example, we have recently designed our new Galileo G3 Assessment Scales to align with the 2011 Head Start Child Development and Early Learning Framework, representing the developmental building blocks that are most important for a child’s school and long-term success. To learn more, click here.