Head Start Faces a New Test

Stephanie Banchero:

Some local Head Start programs for the first time will have to compete for a share of $7.6 billion in federal funding under a plan aimed at weeding out low-performing preschool centers.

In its initial move, the Obama administration recently told 132 Head Start programs across the country that they have been identified as deficient, including the nation's largest programs in Los Angeles County and New York City.

The targeted programs, which serve low-income three- and four-year-olds, won't lose current funding. But instead of having their grants renewed automatically, as has been the practice, the programs now have to prove they are effective in preparing children for kindergarten before they will be given future funding.

The move is part of the administration's broader goal to infuse competition and accountability into public education from preschool through college.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at April 28, 2012 1:31 AM
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