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Article: A Head Start for Poor Children?
- Article from:
- The World and I
- Article date:
- February 1, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 News World Communications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Krista Kafer is a senior policy analyst for education at the Heritage Foundation, a Washington-based think tank.
As the 39-year-old federal Head Start program once again comes before Congress for reauthorization, several unanswered questions that have dogged the program since its inception should be considered. First, does it work?
Twenty-two years after the creation of the preschool program for low- income 3- and 4-year-olds, its cofounder, Edward Zigler, acknowledged, "We simply cannot inoculate children in one year against the ravages of a life of deprivation." Nevertheless, Zigler remains confident that Head Start brings some benefits to the children ...