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Megan Newsome is a parent and advocate living in Lisbon.
When my son Brayden was born, our family was facing a lot at once. I had been diagnosed with cancer while I was pregnant. He arrived about six weeks early and spent time in the NICU. By the time Brayden was about a year old, I was receiving WIC, the federally funded nutrition program for women, infants and children. WIC staff asked whether I had childcare and told me about Early Head Start.
I knew very little about the program then. It quickly became a godsend.
At the time, Brayden was not yet walking. He could not feed himself or hold his own cup. Within weeks of starting Early Head Start, he was pulling himself up, holding his cup and learning to use a spoon and pick up food on his own.
His teachers paid attention to who he was and how he learned. Brayden is left-handed. When teachers recognized that and encouraged him to use the hand that came naturally to him, it showed me that they saw my son as an individual.
Head Start also gave me something I deeply needed while facing cancer: trusted people who could care for my child during the workday. Knowing my son was cared for and learning gave me comfort during an incredibly difficult time.
The support did not stop at the classroom door. Head Start connected us with mental health counseling, clothing, diapers, food banks and help during the holidays — all supports we needed to make sure Brayden had what he needed to learn and grow, at home and in the classroom. There was always someone I could turn to.
Brayden is now 3 and has moved from Early Head Start into Head Start. He is now on track developmentally, and this is a crucial moment in his learning. If he needs additional help before elementary school, I want us to recognize it early and have support in place.
That is why proposed changes to Head Start concern me so deeply. Families could lose developmental screenings, medical and dental services, counseling and other support that helps children grow and prepare for school.
For some children, Head Start may provide the only developmental screening they receive. It’s the front door to health care, dental care, and mental health support. If those services disappear, important needs could go unnoticed until a child enters school and faces a harder path forward.
Larger classrooms and fewer teachers would also make it harder to provide the individual attention that helped Brayden. Teachers need time to know each child, understand how they learn and recognize when they may need additional support.
Head Start works because all these pieces work together. It is not simply a place where parents leave their children. It helps children build confidence and skills while connecting parents with trusted people and practical resources. Weakening any part of that model weakens the program families count on.
I know what Head Start made possible for my son and me. I also know other families rely on it for that same stability and partnership.
The public has only until Oct. 6 to comment on the proposed changes, but Congress can act even after that. I am asking Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King and Rep. Jared Golden, who represents Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, my home district, to listen to Maine families, oppose the proposed rule, and protect the standards and services that make Head Start so effective.
Children deserve to enter school with their strengths recognized and the support they need already in place. Parents deserve trusted partners as they build strong futures for their families.
Head Start gave my family both.