Even Start Deserves a Fresh Start
Bill Goodling      [Photo]
and Janet Murguia     [Photo]

We often hear about the polarizing social and political divide that exists today, but regardless of background, we all want to give our children the best education possible and prepare them to be hardworking citizens who contribute to this great country.

Achieving this goal is harder for some families than for others. For the poorest of the poor, any opportunity that can help them earn a decent living and support their families is desperately welcomed. Unfortunately, the government program that has existed since 1988 to address their needs - the federal Even Start program - is on the chopping block as Congress debates the federal budget.

We urge Congress to keep the resources for this vital program intact. Even Start joins with community organizations across the country to fight illiteracy and give families the tools to be better parents and better students. This is especially important to Hispanic families, where parents may have had little formal education and are trying to learn English at the same time they work one or more jobs to keep afloat.

Nearly half of the parents who participate in Even Start are Hispanic. Many have had no schooling beyond 9th grade and more than 80 percent lack a high school diploma or GED. Without Even Start, it would be difficult for them to be advocates for their children's education.

A recent Texas A&M University study (2004-05) demonstrates how the Even Start program has helped people gain self-sufficiency. In Texas, 92 percent of participants are Latino, and nearly half of them have an annual household income under $6,000. They have the lowest literacy levels in the state. The study found that parents participating in Even Start were able to get better jobs. Employment jumped from 17 percent before enrollment in Even Start to 51 percent after completing the program; parents' average weekly wage increased by more than 34 percent.

Improving parents' education better prepares them to be their child's first and most important teacher. High school students whose families participated in the program when they were in preschool readily credit it for preparing them to keep pace with their fellow students. Having parents able to read to them, help with homework, and communicate well with teachers is vital to children's learning.

We know from our collective experience of more than 41 years working in Congress and in the White House that budget decisions are among the most difficult to make. What look like static numbers on paper are sometimes programs like Even Start with proven results making a dramatic difference in people's daily lives.

There is a great deal of talk about the promotion of family cohesiveness and how the federal government can, and should, do more to bring families together. Doesn't supporting the parenting and literacy training of families living on $6,000 a year foster family cohesiveness?

Even Start families are working tough hours to make ends meet, while taking time to enroll in these programs for themselves and their children.

Take the example of Michele, who was a 28-year-old mother of four children when she discovered Even Start. She liked that she could attend classes to complete her GED while her youngest son would attend pre-school, on-site. "I was lacking self confidence before, and I didn't think I could do anything," she says. "Parents have to expand their minds to help their children expand theirs."

Today, Michele is a para-educator, working with elementary school children. Her children - her pride and joy - are doing exceptionally well.

If we are truly committed to leaving no child behind, then it would be short-sighted to weaken Even Start and leave these parents behind.

Some in Congress would like to cut this $225 million program by more than half. Still others want to eliminate it altogether. By reliable estimates, such actions will force more than half of the programs to close nationwide. How will Congress explain that to Michele and the tens of thousands of parents just like her who just want to get an even start?

(Bill Goodling is a former Representative to the U.S. Congress from Pennsylvania's 19th District and a former Chairman of the House Education and Workforce Committee. Janet Murguia is the president and CEO of the National Council of La Raza, the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S. NCLR receives no funding from the Even Start program)

© 2005, Hispanic Link News Service
12/25/05
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