‘This impacts everybody’: Nebraskans rally at Capitol to advocate for Head Start

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — Advocates for the Head Start program rallied at the state Capitol on Tuesday.

Teachers, parents and students traveled from all over Nebraska to celebrate the program on its 60th anniversary.

It provides early childhood education for children ages 3 to 5.

The rally comes after the administration of President Donald Trump proposed ending federal funding for the program, though the White House has since said it will remain in next year’s budget.

Mark Haba, a Head Start parent, told Channel 8 that the program has had a huge impact on his family.

“It’s kind of addictive once you start seeing what they do and getting in the classrooms,” he said. “And the teachers, they’re not doing it for the money; they’re doing it because they enjoy their jobs. To see the kids develop, it’s amazing what this program does.”

Heather Loughman, CEO of Community Action Partnership of Lancaster and Saunders Counties, said it is essential for the very youngest Nebraskans.

“90% of a child’s brain develops in the first five years of life,” she said. “Interventions that a child does or does not receive in those early years really impacts the long-term trajectory of their life. Head Start really ensures that children with the greatest barriers to success get to be successful and enter school on pace with their peers.”

Former Head Start teacher Jessie Dewaele said the program also helps shape teachers’ careers.

I learned about early childhood development, proper classroom management and discipline for children,” she said.

State Sen. Jason Prokop said he will continue advocating for Head Start because it is so important to the state of Nebraska.

“It’s in communities all across the state, programs in every single corner of the state,” he said. “I believe it’s 56 counties that there are programs in, so this impacts everybody.”

Channel 8 reached out to some of Nebraska’s elected representatives in Washington.

Rep. Mike Flood provided a statement that did not mention Head Start specifically.

“President Trump has done his part by sending his budget recommendation, and now it’s time for Congress to do ours,” he said. “The power of the purse lies solely in the hands of Congress, which gives us the responsibility to set spending levels for federally funded programs. In Nebraska and at the state level, we don’t spend money we don’t have, and our federal government needs to work to do the same.”