Protecting Head Start and our Public Education System

As I visit Head Start facilities across our region, I meet so many caring educators and parents who work hard to positively influence our children and prepare them for school and beyond.

Head Start is key to ensuring that early education opportunities are available to all children and families, not just the wealthiest among us. 

Early education and childhood development programs like Head Start promote school readiness by providing more than 8,000 West Virginia children, ages five and younger, with access to health and dental and nutritional services – including immunizations against childhood diseases. 

That is why I fight back hard in Congress against extreme budget cuts that would undermine our Head Start and Early Head Start facilities.

Across-the-board cuts in Federal investment, known as sequestration, which I adamantly opposed and voted against, threaten to take away millions of dollars from West Virginia Head Start programs, potentially disrupting services and forcing the cancelation of programs, the closing of centers, and the laying off of workers, leaving hundreds of children without full access to these fundamental services. 

I also am pressing to strengthen our public schools and support our teachers, so that they have the resources they need to prepare our kids for the future.  Our State needs resources, which I am fighting for, to modernize our classrooms and make available the technology our kids will need to learn and understand to be competitive in a tough global economy. 

But that is not enough.  We also must have after-school programs that provide safe and educational environments for our children.  We must have school lunch programs so that our kids-in-need don’t go hungry and can concentrate in the classroom.   And we must ensure the continued investment in providing special assistance for gifted students and children with learning disabilities. 

All of these things can increase standardized test scores and graduation rates and improve literacy.

            In America, a solid education should not be out of reach for working families.  I believe that is true not just for elementary and secondary schools but for our colleges and universities as well.

            I am staunch advocate in Congress of helping to prepare our West Virginia students for jobs of the future, so that they can live and build their careers right here at home.

            I continue to adamantly support legislation to reduce tuition costs and expand loan repayment options so that students and their families are not burdened with school debt. 

            We must reduce interest rates on Federal loans and increase funding for Pell Grants and Perkins Loans -- programs that I fight hard to protect from being axed by extremists in Congress.  I support expanded tax benefits to lower college costs and loan forgiveness to incentivize students to pursue careers in rural communities where there is a high-demand for talent in the health care and public service sectors.  Together, these initiatives will make college more affordable and accessible for middle-class families.

The future success of our children rests on the foundation of a good education and healthy environment that begins at an early age.  By investing in early childhood education programs, we are helping to ensure that our Nation’s future leaders, our children, regardless of their economic circumstances, can reach their fullest potential.

U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV) represents West Virginia’s Third Congressional District.  For more information, contact Diane Luensmann at (202) 225-3452, or visit http://rahall.house.gov.

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