The Lord’s Day
August 28, 2016
In the summer of 2013, Nikkitta Jacobs of Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, received news that her son, Jaden, who had just turned three, would not have a spot at the Clara Hearne Head Start Center that fall. Facing a $267,000 budget reduction, the center had to cut 37 children from its incoming class.
Created in 1965, Head Start is the premier early childhood development program supporting our nation’s lowest-income households. Head Start takes a holistic approach, bringing together education, health care, social services, nutrition services, and parental involvement. Studies indicate that Head Start graduates show better math and language skills, social conduct, and physical development than their non-Head Start peers.
High-quality early childhood programs help children in low-income families develop the skills to succeed in school and give parents the support they need to be productive at work. Studies show that children from low-income families who participate in such programs are less likely to be held back in school or placed in special education, have lower rates of juvenile crime, and are more likely to graduate.
Sadly, Congress does not allocate sufficient funds for these programs. Only one in six children eligible for federal childcare assistance receives it. Head Start serves only about half of eligible preschoolers, and Early Head Start serves approximately 4 percent of eligible infants and toddlers.
The 219th General Assembly (2010) approved the report Loving Our Neighbors: Equity and Quality in Public Education (K–12), which recommitted the PC(USA) “to the principle of equal educational opportunity for all children in the United States.”
We must now commit also to making early childhood education, so crucial to future success in life, available to any child who needs it. Greater investments in Head Start and a national commitment to universal pre-K education are essential policy goals as we address many of our nation’s educational disparities.
Leslie Woods, former representative for domestic poverty and environmental issues, PC(USA) Office of Public Witness
Today’s Focus: Public Education
Let us join in prayer for:
PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Jessie Clark, PPC
Martha Clark, PMA
Let us pray
Holy God, as a new school year begins, we pray your blessing on the children. We pray that we who are responsible for the education of all children in our community may provide support for them to grow and thrive. Amen.
Daily Lectionary
Morning Psalms 108; 150
First Reading Job 11:1-9, 13-20
Second Reading Revelation 5:1-14
Gospel Reading Matthew 5:1-12
Evening Psalms 66; 23
You may freely reuse and distribute this article in its entirety for non-commercial purposes in any medium. Please include author attribution, photography credits, and a link to the original article. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDeratives 4.0 International License.