Head Start Works: Don’t ‘Fix’ It

Thank you for going to a local Head Start program for the true picture of what we already do in Head Start (“Testing Expands to Kids in Head Start,” Feb. 6). It’s hard to understand what President Bush and the anonymous “administration officials” want to prove, or improve. We know from research that Head Start works.

Local programs are already meeting national standards that require children to receive a developmental screening and to be assessed three times during the year.

Programs are already accountable and are defunded if they do not perform. Teachers work hard to figure out what children know and receive training on curriculum and early literacy to teach them well.

Our children work hard to make sense of their world, communicate with others and, yes, they learn to count and recognize and write letters. Ask a kindergarten teacher, ask a parent: Head Start works. Instead of wasting resources on unnecessary testing, we should be using tax dollars to expand Head Start to serve all of the children who need it.

Crescent Byerley

Los Angeles