Plant a Promise!

From the White House Rose Garden to Your Garden

Celebrate Head Start's 50th Anniversary by Planting a Rose Bush!

By: Dr. Linda Carson

When I was a child, I loved to plant and care for flowers. I enjoyed watching them change and grow. What a great metaphor for our responsibility for nurturing and “growing” children. As adults in a society that values thoughtful and productive contribution to communities, we value learning, especially early learning.

May 18th is a very special day for early learning and should be acknowledged by all of us. On May 18, 1965, in the Rose Garden at the White House, President Johnson officially unveiled Project Head Start as a component of his War On Poverty. He mentioned that young children are the inheritors of poverty’s curse and not its creators.

Fifty years later, Head Start continues to promote the school readiness of young children birth to age 5 from low-income families through agencies in their local community. Head Start is the national commitment to give every child, regardless of circumstances at birth, an opportunity to succeed in school and in life. In the 50 years since its inception, Head Start has improved the lives of more than 32 million children and their families.

Choosy Kids applauds Head Start for providing young children and their families with exemplary comprehensive services and early learning opportunities preparing children for a love of learning and healthy living.

The National Head Start Association (NHSA) has launched a celebration campaign to renew the nation’s commitment to our at-risk children. Head Start Programs all across the country are planting a rose bush in a special place that will remind everyone of the commitment that was made in the Rose Garden in 1965. Let’s support this wonderful national project for vulnerable children by celebrating the anniversary with them.

Use the hashtags #HeadStartWorks and #HeadStart50 and help spread congratulations for 50 years of serving children and their families.

Let’s plant a promise of commitment and devotion to the well being of all young children. Choosy Kids salutes the Head Start community for tireless devotion to children, their families, and their communities. To commemorate it's 50th Anniversary, the National Head Start Association (NHSA) asks all supporters to plan a rose bush in memory of this great promise. So, Choosy friends, celebrate Head Start's 50th Anniversary with us by helping us plant a virtual rose on our website! Simply comment on this post with a name you would like to have displayed and a rose will virtually be grown on our website from you in support! Check out www.choosykids.com to see our garden grow beginning the afternoon of 5/18!

About the Author: Linda Carson, Ed. D, is the founder and CEO of Choosy Kids, LLC, and the Ware Distinguished Professor Emerita at West Virginia University. An award winning, nationally recognized expert, Dr. Carson has devoted her career to promoting healthy preferences for young children and the adults who make decisions on their behalf. Click here to learn more about Linda.