Even though the government has reopened, Head Start early learning programs across the U.S. are still not fully up and running.
While most classrooms are open, 140 Head Start programs — some comprising multiple learning centers — are still without federal resources, said Tommy Sheridan, deputy director of the National Head Start Association.
“They operate services in more than 40 states. They serve hundreds of thousands of children,” Sheridan said. “This was a quite substantial amount of impact.”
5 questions with Tommy Sheridan
Is there a timeline for when all programs will once again be stable?
“We do believe that within the next week to two weeks, I should say before Thanksgiving, programs should have received their grant award, which is what programs are waiting on to be able to access federal resources and open their doors.”
Can you share an example of a program that was closed and is now open again?
“There’s one program whose director I spoke with this morning that provides services in a number of states on the East Coast, predominantly for agricultural farm workers. And they actually reopened this morning.
“They are leveraging other resources that they’re able to find. Even though they don’t have their formal grant award, they’re nervous about that, but they feel as though the resources are coming and that the children and families, and their staff really could benefit from the program and the services and the stability that Head Start provides.”
Some impacts of the government shutdown were clearly visible. But the public largely couldn’t see the toll it took on kids and families. What did you hear about that?
“I think that the positive from this whole debacle is just the continued power, dedication, commitment that Head Start programs have made to doing everything they possibly can.
“And while that doesn’t make for a good picture or a good video to be able to be shared to drive awareness, that doesn’t mean that the impact was not felt during this government shutdown.”
Are you concerned about another government shutdown and the effect on Head Start that would have?
“I won’t weigh in on whether or not there will be a government shutdown. That’s only something that Congress and the president can navigate.
“But I can say we are not as concerned about the impact on Head Start, and that is because of the timing of the shutdown. Because the shutdown happened Oct. 1, that meant that was the start of the federal fiscal year. That meant that there was no resources that the Department of Health and Human Services could commit to Head Start.
“But the fact that we’re delayed, and that there have been some resources made available — about a third of the year — allows the Department of Health and Human Services to really try to get resources out and to plan accordingly in case there is another shutdown down the road.”
Aside from politics, what other challenges is Head Start facing?
“Given our connection to local communities, we are really designed for crisis, and we have navigated crisis time and again, and we will continue to navigate crisis in the future.
“I do think it’s important to also acknowledge that early childhood educators, child care, Head Start preschool are some of the lowest paid careers of any industries in the United States of America and through COVID and through some of the other things that we’ve gone through these last several years, rising costs of living, that has put a lot of stressors onto our system and our workforce challenges are very real, something that the previous administration was working on, and I know it’s something that the current administration is working on as well.
“Those are the types of things that we need to be focused on, not ‘How do we navigate a political crisis such as the government shutdown?’”
This interview was edited for clarity.
____
Ashley Locke produced and edited this interview for broadcast with Michael Scotto. Grace Griffin produced it for the web.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2025 WBUR