PROJECT HEAD START 1965...

Email me at ggibson@jhsph.edu if you taught or attended Head Start in 1965?

We are recognizing that poverty perpetrates itself. Five- and 6-year-old children are inheritors of the poverty curse--not its creators. Unless we act, these children will pass it on to the next generation--like a family birthmark.

--President Lyndon B. Johnson, at a White House ceremony May 18, 1965, launching Project Head Start.


History of Head Start 1965

OPERATION HEAD START

  • Ran from Monday, June 28, 1965 to Friday, August 6, 1965  (eight weeks).
  • was housed in 54 locations in Washington, DC:  public and catholic schools, churches, recreation centers, YMCAs & YWCAs, and community centers.
  • helped 180 teachers get ready for the pre-schoolers via a week-long training session at Howard University the week of June 21, 1965.
  • was part of the country's War on Poverty waged by President Lyndon B. Johnson.
  • was financed 90% with Federal funds.
  • was coordinated in the Washington area by the United Planning Organization (UPO)
  • was still looking for pre-schoolers in mid-June 1965.  The Washington Post reports "Most areas still have volunteers out beating the bushes for children in the poorer areas (6/18/1965).
  • gave preference to children from low-income families in the District of Columbia, but "enrollment was opened to all children" as long as space was available.
  • was housed in 19 locations in NW  Washington, 18 in NE, 13 in SE, and 3 in SW.
  • was available for nearly 5,000 pre-K students in the District of Columbia.
  • was explained to parents in April 1965 when they showed up at public schools in the District to register their children for the fall semester.  Parents were given flyers that listed the advantages of Project Head Start - learning, medical care, hot meals.
  • utilized thousands of adult volunteers, paid staff, and unpaid professionals (nutritionists, physicians, dentists, etc.)

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