Outgoing Sen. Chris Dodd received a big “thank you” Tuesday for his efforts to fund education programs like Head Start.
Dodd toured the Head Start Program on Howard Avenue in Ansonia. The program offers half-day and extended-day preschool for about 250 kids from low-income families. Funding for Head Start comes from the federal government.
TEAM. Inc., the Derby-based non-profit that operates Head Start in the Valley, thanked Dodd for 30 years of service to local families in need.
“He’s advocated for every program we believe in,” said TEAM CEO Richard Knoll.
In fiscal year 2010 the federal government allocated $7.2 billion for Head Start — an increase of $122 million over the money allocated in fiscal year 2009.
Dodd said the government must keep funding Head Start at current levels — especially given the pressure on working families in places like the lower Naugatuck Valley.
“I can’t think of a legacy for a generation to have than that we did our very, very best to give our youngest, most vulnerable fellow citizens a chance to maximize their God given chances,” Dodd said. “That’s what all of this is about. That’s what Head Start is about.”
Dodd released a report this month from a Senate subcommittee he chaired urging the government to guarantee universal access to early childhood programs such as Head Start.
The report, titled “The State of the American Child,” paints a grim picture. It states that one in five American kids lives in poverty — one in four uses food stamps.
The report is posted below. Article continues after the document.
“This crisis is so severe that according to one report by Mission Readiness, a bipartisan organization of senior retired military leaders, 75 percent of our children are unfit to enlist in the military “because they fail to graduate high school, have a criminal record, or are physically unfit,” Dodd’s report states.
Investing in programs like Head Start pay big dividends in the future, Dodd said.
During his tour of the Howard Avenue building, Dodd took time to read “Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?” to teacher Dawn Sharpe’s class. The class thanked the Senator by giving him a picture book with their autographs. The kids were especially interested to see photos of the Senator’s two young children, which is displayed in his wallet.
Click the slideshow to see photos from Dodd’s tour.
