1965 Lyndon B. Johnson - Project Head Start

In the early 1960s, the Office of Economic Opportunity and the Office of Education were looking at large-scale summer preschool initiatives as way to address the needs of low-income children struggling at the beginning of school.   As part of President Lyndon Johnson's Great Society and War on Poverty, Sargent Shriver, the director of the Office of Economic Opportunity assembled a panel of experts chaired by Dr. Robert Cooke to develop a comprehensive child development program to help meet the needs of disadvantaged preschool aged children.  The panel became the early architects of Project Head Start, a program that since 1965 has served more than 36 million children across the nation. 

In January 1965, the committee completed a series of recommendations that served as the blueprint for Project Head Start.  In their report, they identified the early years of childhood as the most critical point in the poverty cycle.  They reported finding deficiencies in early learning process of needy children that laid a foundation for a pattern of failure and poverty lasting throughout the child's entire life.   President Johnson enthusiastically endorsed their report and appointed his own wife, Lady Bird Johnson to be honorary chairman of the program to implement their findings.

On January 12, 1965 President Johnson introduced the program to Congress in a special message to Congress entitled "Toward Full Education Opportunity".  First, Johnson gave a picture of the "darker side to education in America".   In 1965, one out of three fifth grade students were expected to drop out before finishing high school and unemployment for persons without a high school diploma was four times the national average.  Johnson made a direct connection between education and poverty and urged Congress to focus on bringing better education to the disadvantaged youth who needed it most.  Johnson wanted Congress to push ahead with his education budget of $4.1 billion to support the education of "our youth in pre-schools, elementary and secondary schools, and in the colleges and universities." Among the programs, the president proposed was the Cooke’s preschool program.   Johnson's set aside $150 million for pre-school projects through what he called a special "Head-Start" program for low-income students starting school in the fall.

On May 18, 1965 President Johnson officially announced Project Head Start from the White House Rose Garden with the opening of some 2,000 child development centers around the nation serving as many as 500,000 children.  This was nearly half the children in poverty. At the Centers the children would get a "head start on their future".  It was not just about learning to count and to say the alphabet, the children would also receive medical and dental attention and parents would receive counseling on how to improve the home environment.  President Johnson saw this as a crucial step in ending poverty, saying that "it shows that we are recognizing that poverty perpetuates itself."  Johnson continued, "Five and six year old children are inheritors of poverty's curse and not its creators. Unless we act these children will pass it on to the next generation, like a family birthmark."

That summer, the program served 560,000 children and families across America in an eight-week summer program.   In Johnson's 1965 State of the Union Address, he introduced his Great Society program to "establish a harmony between man and society".   Johnson saw America climbing to the "peak of prosperity" and just at the "beginning of the road to the Great Society".  Among his major recommendations was to improve the quality of American life through education. Johnson introduced not just preschool for needy children, but an entire new program for schools and students. Johnson suggested a first-year authorization of $1.5 billion, about one-third of the amount in his final education budget.  He wanted programs for every "every stage along the road to learning."  Project Head Start was just one of those stages, but one that had lasting impact. 

"THROUGH EDUCATION 

We begin with learning. 

Every child must have the best education that this Nation can provide. 

Thomas Jefferson said that no nation can be both ignorant and free. Today no nation can be both ignorant and great. 

In addition to our existing programs, I will recommend a new program for schools and students with a first year authorization of $1,500 million. 

It will help at every stage along the road to learning. 

For the preschool years we will help needy children become aware of the excitement of learning. 

For the primary and secondary school years we will aid public schools serving low-income families and assist students in both public and private schools. 

For the college years we will provide scholarships to high school students of the greatest promise and the greatest need and we will guarantee low-interest loans to students continuing their college studies. 

New laboratories and centers will help our schools--help them lift their standards of excellence and explore new methods of teaching. These centers will provide special training for those who need and those who deserve special treatment."

Since 1965, Head Start programs have served more than 36 million children.   It is now a year-round full day service with many program options.    Head Start is in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. territories.

References

Presidency.ucsb.edu. (2019). Annual Message to the Congress on the State of the Union | The American Presidency Project. [online] Available at: https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/annual-message-the-congress-the-state-the-union-26 [Accessed 31 Dec. 2019].

Presidency.ucsb.edu. (2019). Remarks on Project Head Start. | The American Presidency Project. [online] Available at: https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-project-head-start [Accessed 31 Dec. 2019].

Presidency.ucsb.edu. (2019). Special Message to the Congress: "Toward Full Educational Opportunity. | The American Presidency Project. [online] Available at: https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/special-message-the-congress-toward-full-educational-opportunity [Accessed 31 Dec. 2019].

Edweek.org. (2019). Head Start at 20 - Education Week. [online] Available at: https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/1985/05/08/05220002.h04.html [Accessed 31 Dec. 2019].

Office of Head Start | ACF. (2019). History of Head Start. [online] Available at: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ohs/about/history-of-head-start [Accessed 31 Dec. 2019].