$10 Million from Donors Keep Head Start Programs Running

A donation from a generous couple helped three Head Start programs in Cherokee County re-open on Tuesday.

Laura and John Arnold of the Laura and John Arnold Foundationdonated up to $10 million in emergency funding to the National Head Start Association, which help programs in several states re-open today.

The donation helped the Cherokee County School District re-open three Head Start programs — Ralph Bunche Center, Little River and Oak Grove pre-school centers — to parents and students who depend on the program.

The donation helps Head Start programs in states such as Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Mississippi, which closed and affected 7,195 students, according to the NHSA's press release.

The donation will help fund Head Start and Early Head Start programs that were forced to closed or were facing closure due to the partial government shutdown. NHSA notes money has not been appropriated to Head Start for fiscal year 2014 "due to the stalemate in Washington, leaving some programs with no access to federal funds."

"For nearly fifty years, Head Start has been the window of opportunity for more than 27 million of our nation’s poorest children as they embark on their journey to achieve the American Dream," Yasmina Vinci, executive director of the National Head Start Association, said in a statement. "The Arnolds’ most generous act epitomizes what it means to be an angel investor; they have selflessly stepped up for Head Start children to ensure their path toward kindergarten readiness is not interrupted by the inability of government to get the nation’s fiscal house in order."

The Cherokee County School District last week sent home lettersinforming parents the partial government shutdown was expected to impact their classrooms. However, the district was informed byNinth District Opportunity on Monday that it would be able to resume classes today at the three facilities in Cherokee. 

Ninth District Opportunity is a nonprofit organization operates the Head Start and Pre-K programs in the three Cherokee County schools. Cherokee County has six teachers that are funded with federal dollars under Head Start. 

While this immediately benefits the more than 7,000 students who were forced out of the classroom on Monday, NHSA notes more than 11,000 students could lose access to essential early learning services if the shutdown continues through October. 

Additionally, if the government does not return to business as usual by Nov. 1, NHSA believes more Head Start programs serving over 86,000 students could go idle, which would impact low-income children in 41 states and one American territory. 

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