Head Start Discussion Likely at Grosse Pointe School Board Meeting

Following from establishing a location at , Board President John Steininger said recently he plans to speak out about his vote.

The program had been proposed as a measure to meet the demand from parents who already have students at the district's only school located outside the physical limits of the Grosse Pointes. The school board voted it down 4-2. Board member Fred Minturn was absent from the meeting but had showed support for it--suggesting it would have been the seemingly usual split on contentious issues.

There was little discussion on the issue and Poupard Principal Penny Stocks made a swift exit from the meeting clearly upset by what she later told Patch was an unexpected decision. Following the decision, residents throughout the Grosse Pointes have voiced frustration and questioned the board's vote.

Steininger, who voted against the program, recently told Patch he has a variety of reasons for doing so, one of which is research that shows it doesn't have lasting effects. The benefits, he said, only last through the end of first grade, which makes the entire program questionable. 

While Steininger said he believes in the program theoretically, the actual benefits are not as sweepingly positive as promoted. 

Additionally, Steininger said allowing such a program to have space in the school building during classroom instruction time is opening the floodgates for requests. There is not another external program that utilizes school space during the school day throughout the district, he said, noting there are some who use space after school dismissal and in the evenings. 

Allowing Head Start would set a precedent for allowing external organizations and then defining what groups should be given school space during instructional time becomes a muddled mess, he said. It would give other organizations hope of also being allowed space during the school day, he said.

The other strong point for Steininger involves the volunteers used by Head Start, he said. As he understands it, the federally operated Department of Education program uses several volunteers to every official teacher in a classroom. Those volunteers, who would not have background checks performed through the district, would then have access to the school during the day when hundreds of students are present--a situation Steininger says is concerning. 

They contribute additional risk to the district, he said.

He plans to speak about his decision during his time to address the board and meeting attendees, he said, explaining he and the rest of the board have gotten emails from concerned residents. 

Steininger, who prefers to communicate in person or by telephone rather than email, said he believes those upset by the decision are a core group of people and the frustration is not widespread.

The program would have already had 20 students signed up if it had passed after Stocks worked with Head Start officials for months to get the school classroom certified. Instead, it will now sit vacant along with another classroom during next school year.

Stocks, who said she was shocked by the board's decision, was frustrated with the lack of communication by those who voted against the proposal. She presented information about the program at the previous meeting and offered all the board members an opportunity to stop by Harper Woods' program to witness it. She only heard from those who were supportive. Steininger said, however, if Stocks were wondering how individual board members felt about it or how they were going to vote, Stocks should have called them.

Messages for a Wayne County Head Start spokesperson by Patch have not been returned but the benefits, according to the national organization's website, are not limited to education. In addition to leading to improved test scores as compared to peers who did not attend Head Start, the program is said to have economic benefits, health benefits and crime reduction benefits. 

According to a research study of the program's effectiveness, children who participate in Head Start are more ready to begin school than those who did not. While the study shows short-term the benefits are likely gone by the end of first grade, it shows long-term how these children are more likely to graduate high school, go to college and less likely to need special services and less likely to go to jail.

According to those same results, an area that could help improve the length of impact of the benefits is to target a better link between the program and other support services at-risk children need throughout elementary school.

Head Start began in 1965 and serves the children of families earning an income below the federal poverty level, which is defined in 2011 as a family of four making less than $22,350. 

CORRECTION: This story was edited Tuesday July 26, 2011, at 12:11 a.m. to reflect more information about the vote regarding the Head Start program.