News Release 8/26/2009
Head Start Community Mourns the Death of a Champion for Head Start
ALEXANDRIA, VA.///August 26, 2009///The National Head Start Association mourns the death of Senator Edward M. Kennedy, a tireless champion of the Head Start program and one the most effective U.S. Senators. During his 47 year Senate career, Senator Kennedy authored more than 2,500 bills, and of this number, several hundred became public law. His lasting impact on American public policy may be just as far reaching as that of his older brother, the late President John F. Kennedy. A few of the bills that became law under his leadership are: the Protection and Advocacy for Mentally Ill Individuals Act of 1986, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the National Institutes of Health Revitalization Act of 1993, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, the Food and Drug Modernization Act of 1997, the Children's Health Act of 2000, and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, the Goals 2000 Education America Act, the No Child Left Behind Act, and the Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007.
Senator Kennedy had a tremendous impact on the Head Start and Early Head Start programs which have served more than 27 million children and their families since 1965.
Commenting on Senator Kennedy's death, Janis Santos, Vice Chairperson of the National Head Start Association Board of Directors and Executive Director of the Holyoke, Chicopee, Springfield Head Start program, lamented, "Over the last 30 years in my position as Executive Director of Holyoke, Chicopee, Springfield Head Start, I have had the privilege to work closely with Senator Kennedy on Head Start reauthorization, legislation and funding. In 2003 at the invitation of Senator Kennedy I testified to the Senate HELP Committee on the reauthorization of Head Start. I have personally witnessed his tireless efforts on behalf of low income children and families. His leadership for Head Start and children's issues has made a difference for many families who struggle toward a better quality of life. I was honored when he visited my Head Start program in Ludlow, MA in 1992. He devoted his entire visit to playing with the children who taught him the "Itsy Bitsy" Spider song. He is my friend, my inspiration and my Head Start Hero. He will live in my heart forever."
Senator Kennedy was instrumental to the creation of the Early Head Start program in 1994. Early Head Start programs serve pregnant women and children from birth to age three and their low-income families, while Head Start programs serve three- and four-year-olds and their families. Nearly 80 percent of the community-based organizations that operate an Early Head Start program also operate Head Start programs to ensure continuity of services for the most vulnerable children between birth and age five.
Senator Kennedy remained committed to the continuous improvement of the Head Start and Early Head Start programs. In the Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007 and in prior reauthorizations of these programs, he worked to significantly expand the Head Start and Early Head Start programs, ensure that children attending these programs receive a strong and holistic educational foundation and needed comprehensive services, make certain that these programs could build or purchase their own buildings, expand program eligibility to include homeless children, and raise the Head Start income eligibility to up to 130 percent of the federal poverty guideline.
One unheralded contribution that Senator Kennedy made was the opportunity for hundreds of talented public-spirited individuals to work in his Senate offices throughout his long Senate career. Many of his former staff members have continued working as White House staff and on the U.S. Supreme Court. Yasmina Vinci, National Head Start Association's Executive Director said, "In addition to offering our heartfelt condolences to the Kennedy family, we also ask current and former Senator Kennedy staff to accept our condolences at the loss of their mentor. They and the Head Start community must now work to ensure that the torch is passed again to a new generation of Americans. One way to continue the Senator's dream will be to ensure that the Head Start and Early Head Start programs have the ability to serve all the children who need them."
In addition, Senator Kennedy received numerous awards throughout his life, including the First Annual Lady Bird Johnson Head Start Heroes Award from the National Head Start Association and the Massachusetts Head Start Association, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian honor from President Barack Obama, and an Honorary Doctorate from Harvard University.
ABOUT NHSA
The National Head Start Association (http://www.nhsa.org) is a private not-for-profit membership organization dedicated exclusively to meeting the needs of Head Start children and their families. It represents more than one million children, 200,000 staff and 2,600 Head Start programs in the United States. The Association provides support for the entire Head Start community by advocating for policies that strengthen services to Head Start children and their families; by providing extensive training and professional development to Head Start staff; and by developing and disseminating research, information, and resources that enrich Head Start program delivery.
CONTACT: Ben Allen, (703) 739-7558 or ballen@nhsa.org.