Head Start unveiled plans for its first comprehensive revision of its performance standards since 1975.
On Sep. 1, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services announced the new standards, which are aimed at improving school preparedness for children from low-income families.
The changes would increase education standards and curriculum requirements for children, professional development of teachers, as well as improve services for children with disabilities and English learners. Additionally, it requires Head Start centers to offer full-day childcare during the school year.
“The new standards strengthen educational practices and are based on the best research about how children learn and develop,” HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell said in a statement.
Burwell added that President Obama’s goal is to ensure that nearly all children have access to Head Start by 2021.
Head Start has enrolled more than 1 million children every year, and has served more than 33 million children since its inception in 1965.
SOURCE: Dept. Health & Human Services | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty, Twitter
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