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Early childhood education is essential for building a solid foundation from which students can grow and learn. But a Rutgers University National Institute for Early Education Research report found that in Ohio, fewer than one-third of children living in poverty are being enrolled in Head Start and Early Head Start programs.
Ohio has only 29% enrollment in Head Start for kids in poverty, and only 8% in Early Head Start, according to a report by the Ohio Capital Journal. "The report finds that federal investment is needed to increase access for families in poverty and address racial and ethnic disparities in enrollment," NIEER reported.
As always, the suggested solution is throwing more money at the problem. The NIEER report says the program is limited by "insufficient funding." Perhaps that is part of the problem; and more money where it would do the most good -- say, at the level of teachers in our communities -- might indeed result in some improvement. If we don't do that, throwing money at the program will make no difference.