KENNEDY DISCUSSES CRITICAL IMPORTANCE OF EARLY EDUCATION AND THE NEED FOR CONGRESS TO ACT KENNEDY DELIVERS KEYNOTE ADDRESS CELEBRATING THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE HEAD START PROGRAM

BRAINTREE, MASSACHUSETTS- Senator Edward M. Kennedy discussed the importance of early education to a child’s health and development at the New England Head Start Association’s regional conference at the Sheraton Hotel. Kennedy delivered the keynote address marking the 40th Anniversary of the Head Start program and discussed his reauthorization legislation in the United States Senate to improve the program and ensure that all children arrive at school ready and able to learn. “Forty years ago, we opened the door of opportunity by giving many of America’s neediest children a Head Start toward the American Dream,” said Senator Kennedy. “Since then, Head Start has been a lifeline for hundreds of thousands of young children in New England. As we’ve done in past reauthorizations, we support the best available practices, and at the same time we acknowledge we have to do better. There’s no question how important it is for Congress to protect and preserve Head Start for the future.”Head Start, founded in 1965, provides education, health - including physical, dental and mental health, nutrition, parent involvement and family support services. The goal of the program is to help low-income children develop school readiness skills so they enter kindergarten ready to learn and to help low-income families achieve self-sufficiency. The Head Start program currently faces reauthorization in Congress. This past spring, Senator Kennedy’s Head Start Improvements for School Readiness Act passed the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and now awaits final Senate action. In particular, this bill would expand access to Early Head Start for infants and toddlers, expand eligibility to serve more of the working poor and raise Head Start teacher’s skills. Currently, nearly 15,000 students are served by Head Start programs in Massachusetts, but the participation rate of eligible children in the program remains near 50 percent. Senator Kennedy, who was instrumental in Head Start’s inception, is committed to addressing the critical need to improve on the success of the program in fighting poverty and increasing the educational attainment of children.