David Colburn

I spent a big chunk of my life in the Head Start family, as a consultant, trainer, education coordinator, and program director across eight states. I even helped write the national standards for kids with special needs. So when I say I know what Head Start means to this country, it’s not a slogan — it’s personal. I’ve seen it. I’ve lived it. Head Start isn’t just a line item on some federal spreadsheet. It’s a lifeline.
And now, President Donald Trump, the same guy who tried to distance himself from the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 plan to dismantle much of the federal government, is walking right in step with it by proposing to eliminate Head Start entirely. Sixty years of helping children and families, tossed aside without a care for the devastation it will cause.
We can’t let that happen.
Since 1965, Head Start has reached nearly 40 million children. Not just with early education, though that’s huge, but with health screenings, nutritious meals, dental care, mental health services, family support, and a whole lot of heart. It’s not just about preparing kids for kindergarten. It’s about giving them a real shot at a better life. And killing it? That would leave a hole we can’t fill.
Study after study shows early childhood education works, especially for kids growing up without a lot of resources. Head Start kids do better in school. They’re less likely to need expensive special ed services. They’re more likely to graduate, get jobs, and contribute to their communities. They also grow up with the kind of social-emotional skills that help in life.
Eliminating Head Start would yank those supports away from hundreds of thousands of kids, most from low-income families already facing uphill battles. No early screenings? That means undiagnosed health issues and learning delays will get worse, not better. No steady classroom? That means kids starting school behind and staying there. For Black, Latino, Native American, and rural children, this loss would hit especially hard.
Head Start isn’t stuck in the ‘60s. It’s grown from a part-day preschool program to include full-day, year-round child care for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. It’s a lifeline for working families, especially in rural and lower-income communities. Without it, parents – especially single moms – face child care costs that rival college tuition. And without child care, a lot of those parents have no choice but to leave the workforce. That’s not just a family issue. That’s an economic gut punch.
And rural America would be particularly hit hard. In many small towns, Head Start is the only child care option available. No Head Start means child care deserts where the only choices are unaffordable or unsafe. Parents left scrambling. Kids left behind.
And we’d lose more than classrooms. Head Start employs tens of thousands of teachers, aides, cooks, bus drivers, and more. That’s real income in communities that can’t afford to lose jobs. And Head Start does more than teach kids. It’s a family empowerment program that lifts everyone in a family. It connects families to health care, mental health support, job training, things that build up communities, not just kids. Shut it down, and you don’t just break a program. You break a support system.
And here’s the kicker: shutting Head Start down doesn’t even save money in the long run. In fact, it costs us. Big time. Research says that every dollar spent on quality early childhood programs like Head Start saves seven to nine dollars down the road. That’s less money spent on crime, welfare, and remedial education. So, when Trump says he’ll “save” $12 billion a year by cutting Head Start, what he’s really doing is throwing away as much as $108 billion a year in future benefits. That’s far too big a price to pay.
Take away Head Start, and you shrink the workforce. Parents can’t work if they can’t afford child care. Kids grow up less prepared. And our economy loses a whole generation of talent, just as we’re falling behind globally. That’s not just shortsighted. That’s self-sabotage.
And if the money argument doesn’t move you, let’s talk about values. Head Start is about fairness. About making sure a kid born into tough circumstances isn’t doomed by them. About building a country where everyone gets a shot. Shut it down, and what you’re saying is that some kids just aren’t worth it.
That’s not a country I want to live in. And I don’t think it’s one most Americans want either.
I’ve seen what Head Start can do. I’ve watched shy kids bloom into confident learners. I’ve seen parents rise, becoming leaders in schools, and even teachers and directors themselves. I’ve seen communities grow stronger because they invested in their youngest members.
This isn’t the first time Head Start’s been on the chopping block, and it probably won’t be the last. In America, it seems programs that help people climb out of poverty are always first on the hit list.
A generation of young learners and their families need our support now. Remind those insulated in Washington, D.C. from the lives of everyday Americans that behind every budget number is a child, a family, a future. Saving Head Start isn’t just about preserving a program. It is about preserving our belief that in America, every child deserves a real chance to succeed. It is about who we are and who we hope to become.