I was a low-income student who attended Head Start. I'm now an educator with a master's degree and owe all my success to the federal program.
When I was a kid, I joined the Head Start program as a low-income student.
The federally funded program offered me a safe place to learn and socialize.
I'm forever grateful for my time in Head Start.
Growing up in rural Michigan offered me so many meaningful experiences, but my childhood was also intertwined with poverty.
As a child, I attended Head Start, a federally funded program for low-income families. Since it began as an eight-week project in 1965, Head Start has served more than 30 million children.
In April, five of the Office of Head Start regional offices — in Boston, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Seattle — were shuttered as part of the cuts to the US Department of Health and Human Services. As someone who attended Head Start, the early-childhood learning experience brought structure to my life for the first time and allowed me to learn and play in a safe and clean environment.
I'm now an educator with a policy background, nearly a decade of experience on education and general welfare issues, and my master's degree. I believe my participation in Head Start helped make these opportunities possible for me.
Head Start taught me valuable skills at a young age
I still have some visceral memories from my time at Head Start. I remember having a symbol assigned to my nametag, which makes sense since most of us, children ages 3 to 5, were too young to know how to read. My older brother was the wagon, so I wanted to be that, too.
There were lots of toys. I vividly remember the sand table. By playing, we built motor skills, practiced communication, and gained knowledge with every action.
The classroom offered me a fun place to play, learn, and grow.
Though I had older siblings, Head Start allowed me to play with my peers and socialize in a supportive environment. By meeting new friends and learning how to interact with people outside my family, I gained new skills and experiences, which I needed before heading to kindergarten.
The program set me up for success
My early years prepared me for the rest of my life. Today, I have a deep love for education. I work as an educator. I've taught in higher education, early childhood education, and K-12. I also worked as a Legislative Director for the New York City Council on policy issues related to education and poverty.
Though I was born into poverty, I've been able to move into a middle-class life through educational opportunities. I'm forever grateful for my experiences at Head Start.
My concern is that children today won't have access to the same opportunities that I had, which makes escaping poverty even harder.
Every child deserves free, safe, and supportive opportunities to learn. The building blocks of learning helped me become the person, writer, and educator I am today.
Children, especially poor kids like me, deserve the opportunity to bloom.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Elle
21 hours ago
- Elle
Jupiter in Cancer Wants You to Redefine What Family Really Means
Feeling a tug on your apron strings? A collective shift is coming today, June 9, as adventurous Jupiter sails into Cancer, the sign of women, home, and families. Jupiter spends approximately 12-13 months in each zodiac sign, blessing us with yearlong cycles in which to stretch, grow, and find our fortune. Even better? Caring, intuitive Cancer is Jupiter's happiest place in the zodiac, its 'exalted' position in astro-speak. Nevertheless, there's an odd balance to strike between Jupiter's nomadic urges and Cancer's nesting instincts. Jupiter is the free spirit; Cancer, the nurturing mother. The way we 'do' family life could change in unpredictable ways between now and June 30, 2026. With conservatism on the rise among Gen Z, there might be a growing focus on the nuclear family. Population decline has become an existential worry—and an actual concern—in recent years. Hyperbolic Jupiter could drum up global worries about the extinction of the human race. And in Cancer, 'more is more' Jupiter could usher in a modern-day baby boom, at least for those who have the means to feed extra mouths. Here's a fascinating fact: Louise Brown became the first baby born by IVF on July 25, 1978, when—you guessed it—Jupiter was in Cancer. But baby fever could also feel equally dystopian. In the United States, fed-up tradwives have been quietly finding each other on TikTok, forming support groups in private chats and banding together to escape the oppressive lifestyle. Plus, without greater protections for reproductive rights, Jupiter in Cancer may struggle to deliver much of a baby boom in the United States. Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, simply becoming pregnant has brought increased risk for some people, as miscarriages and stillbirths have led to a handful of criminal cases in select states. Simultaneously, social programs for families, like SNAP benefits and Head Start, are under threat. How do you afford a child, even if you want one? That struggle is sure to be a hot topic in the zeitgeist with Jupiter in Cancer. And despite the swing toward conservatism, heteronormative marriage could undergo a reputational reckoning. With Jupiter heading into Cancer, we may see more people cohabitating, consciously uncoupling, or skipping the whole 'white dress and mortgage' narrative altogether. Family will be redefined on our own terms. Regardless of your kid count, Jupiter in Cancer revs up the collective's maternal instincts. How do we care for each other? Nurture ourselves? Feel safe and protected? Those are bound to be hot topics over the next 13 months. And will the future be female? Jupiter in Cancer can bring a culture-wide shift with regards to women's rights, bodily agency, and access to power. Past cycles have definitely amplified these themes: On the heels of Jupiter's 2013-2014 odyssey in Cancer, Beyoncé brought gender rights to the VMAs, performing in front of a huge sign that read 'Feminist.' The same year, then-17-year-old Cancerian Malala Yousafzai became the youngest-ever person to win a Nobel Peace Prize for her work providing safe education for girls. As Jupiter flows through tender, tidal Cancer, the next 13 months will ask us to redefine what it means to belong. This transit invites us to weave stronger emotional bonds and to protect what's sacred—whether with chosen family or people who share our DNA. Expect fierce debates and heartfelt movements around reproductive justice, caregiving, and who gets to claim the title of 'family.' At its best, this cosmic cycle can birth a global reawakening around empathy, equity, and the power of community care. No, it may not look like a Hallmark card. But the future family is forming now—and if bountiful Jupiter has a say, it's got room for everyone at the table.
5 days ago
In a crowded NYC mayoral debate, Cuomo faces attacks from all sides
New York City mayoral race front-runner Andrew Cuomo was forced to fend off a volley of attacks from his Democratic primary rivals in a debate Wednesday, with his opponents unleashing pent up barbs at the former governor in an attempt to crack his lead. Cuomo was on the defensive from the opening bell. From a crowded stage, Cuomo's opponents swiped at him over the sexual harassment scandal that forced him from the governor's mansion, his coronavirus response and the federal investigation into whether he lied to Congress about his handling of the pandemic in nursing homes. At one point, Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist state lawmaker who has emerged as one of the leading candidates in the race, pressed Cuomo on the overlap between the former governor's political donors and those who donated to Republican President Donald Trump. 'The difference between myself and Andrew Cuomo is that my campaign is not funded by the very billionaires who put Donald Trump in D.C.,' Mamdani said, calling himself 'Donald Trump's worst nightmare.' Weathering the onslaught, Cuomo started flicking out his own jabs. 'Mr. Mamdani is very good on Twitter, with videos, but he actually produces nothing,' Cuomo said. 'Donald Trump would go through Mr. Mamdani like a hot knife through butter. He's been in government 27 minutes, he's passed three bills. That's all he's done." The pile-on came after Cuomo, who has led every poll since entering the race, has avoided his opponents in public, giving them virtually no opportunities to meet him face-to-face. That all changed Wednesday night. The former governor's opponents had him in their sights throughout the debate, working in criticisms of Cuomo in their responses to questions or interjecting at points to get in another quick dig at the former governor of New York. The cross talk was heavy on a stage that hosted nine candidates. In one exchange, Cuomo deflected on a question about whether he had any regrets from his time in politics, saying that if he regretted anything, it was 'that the Democratic Party got to a point that we allowed Mr. Trump to be elected, that we got to a point where rhetoric has no connection to reality.' The other candidates pounced. Adrienne Adams, the speaker of the New York City Council, spoke up, asking Cuomo if he had regrets about his record on health care, child care and more. 'Really, no regrets,' she said as she shook her head at Cuomo. As Cuomo moved to respond, Jessica Ramos, a state senator, tried to get a point in, but was drowned out by a moderator who directed the former governor to answer Adams' critique. 'It is just not accurate,' Cuomo said. Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat who pulled out of the primary to instead run for a second term on an independent ballot line, did not participate in the debate. Cuomo had been considered one of the Democratic Party's rising stars before his dramatic downfall in 2021 following a sexual harassment scandal. The former governor has said he did not intentionally mistreat the women and had fallen out of step with what was considered appropriate workplace conduct, though his lawyers and consultants have worked to discredit his accusers. Cuomo repeated a similar refrain on Wednesday during the debate. In his comeback run for mayor, Cuomo has faced renewed scrutiny about his decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic and is under investigation by the Justice Department over whether he lied to Congress about how he handled the virus as it spread through nursing homes. During the debate, moderators tried to pin Cuomo down on the truthfulness of his congressional testimony about a state report on nursing home deaths during the pandemic, but he sidestepped the question. 'I was very aware of the report,' he said, drawing a laugh from one of the other candidates.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Yahoo
Local programs brace for impact of potential SNAP reductions
JOPLIN, Mo. — The Missouri House prepares to vote on a federal budget resolution which could impact the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as 'SNAP.' Back in April, the state proposed to delegate cuts to SNAP to aid the federal budget resolution. According to the USDA, SNAP helps more than 650,000 people in Missouri, including about 300-thousand children, afford food. Representatives with Joplin's Head Start program say about 80-percent of their families are eligible for SNAP benefits and 42-percent of them say 'they struggle to provide healthy meals each day.' Local food bank workers say those numbers are causing a steady stream of traffic through their doors. 'At first it was just like a little trickle. But now we have more and more people coming in and it's definitely noticeable. We have probably a 10% increase about 10% to 15% of the amount of households that are coming in that need food assistance,' said Carrie Pence, Joplin Crosslines Ministries executive director. 'Even with all of the stuff that we are doing on the front line, we're still seeing a lot of food insecurity, so a cut to the SNAP benefits would strain and stretch an already taxed community support system that we're already relying on heavily,' said Kelly Creech, Head Start and Early Head Start family development coordinator. Head Start and Early Head Start serve about 900 families a year, and Crosslines Ministries serve about 2,000 families each month to help lessen the gap of food insecurity. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
