Libby Doggett, deputy assistant secretary for policy and early learning at the U.S. Department of Education, will give the keynote address at the city of San Antonio’s 2014-15 Head Start Pre-Service event at 11:15 a.m. CT on Thursday, Aug. 21, in San Antonio, Texas.
Doggett will discuss the Obama Administration’s new $250 million Preschool Development Program competition, announced last week, as well as the valuable contributions that Head Start teachers make to ensure that children enter kindergarten ready to succeed. The competition is being run jointly by the Education Department and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the Head Start program. In 2014, the Obama Administration increased Head Start funding by over $1 billion, including $500 million for the new Early Head Start-Child Care (EHS-CC) Partnership to support communities in expanding high-quality early learning and development opportunities for infants and toddlers.
Titled “Head Start: Surfing the Wave of Excellence,” the event is a collaboration between the City of San Antonio Head Start program and four Head Start and Early Head Start grantees, bringing together some 1,450 teachers, teacher assistants, family support workers, and other staff to gear up for the new school year and the importance of quality early childhood education.
San Antonio Mayor Ivy Taylor will also address the event.