Head Start programs are getting another round of federal funding this year. This, after President Donald Trump considered eliminating the early education program that prepares children for kindergarten. The president backed away from that idea, but there is still some uncertainty around future funding.
Roni Fitch has been a teacher and administrator with Head Start in the New River Valley for nearly thirty years. Seated in a child-sized chair and in her warm, calming voice, she explains their goal is to help children be happy, healthy, confident children.
“And when I say happy, I mean that they love coming to school,” Fitch explains. “You know, children feel that ‘this is my place and I’m a learner and I can do it. I can be me.’”
Fitch works with New River Community Action, which operates 16 Head Start classrooms across the New River Valley. Chief operating officer Stephanie Bryson says last year, when there was talk of federal cuts, groups across Virginia came together to talk through contingency plans, to keep these programs going.
“We certainly have gone through a period of uncertainty but the state’s response to that has been really promising,” Bryson says.
Head Start has been in existence since the 1960s, and Bryson says their agency relies on hundreds of volunteers and local fundraising to stretch their federal dollars.
She said one of their biggest challenges is having enough money to invest in better wages for teachers. President Trump’s proposed budget for next year keeps Head Start funding at the same level, but Bryson and other advocates are concerned that means they may continue to lose teachers to higher paying jobs.
A new proposed federal rule would also roll back 2024 standards that were intended to increase wages for Head Start teachers. Those new standards would have brought teacher pay closer to what public school teachers earn. “In rolling back those standards, it will make it even harder for us to invest in better pay for Head Start teachers,” Bryson says.
She points out that Head Start doesn’t only benefit children; it also empowers parents with better resources, allows them to work and go to college.
“This is actually really personal to me because years ago I was a single mom. I was a college dropout,” Bryson recalls. “And I was able to enroll my son in Head Start, and that allowed me to go back to school, finish my degree, and now I work for the same agency that gave me that opportunity.”
NRCA is currently enrolling for children aged 3 to 5, and families who qualify receive a quality preschool experience at no cost.
