Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/the-start-of-head-start/5019320/
The creation of the Head Start program occurred at break-neck speed with many dramatic turns and many colorful players. No one tells the story better than Edward Zigler in Head Start: The Inside Story of America’s Most Successful Educational Experiment �" a detailed and personal, behind the scenes look at the program’s inception. From this resource and many other documents of the time, we have pulled together this short list of individuals who contributed to the creation of Head Start:Lyndon Johnson
As a former teacher in a one-room schoolhouse in Texas, Lyndon Johnson believed strongly that education was the key to breaking the cycle of poverty. As President, when he took up the cause of building the ‘Great Society’ by declaring ‘War on Poverty,’ Head Start was one of his early campaigns in that war. In 1965, he announced the establishment of Head Start as an eight-week summer program, staffed by volunteers, for over 500,000 low-income children who would enter school in the fall of 1965 (acf.org).
Sargent Shriver
The actual architect of Head Start, was Sargent Shriver, brother-in-law of the late President Kennedy, who turned a problem into an opportunity. As head of the Office of Economic Opportunity under President Johnson, Shriver was ...