Overview:
Project 2025’s plan to dismantle the Department of Education and eliminate Head Start poses a critical threat to early childhood education, deepening disparities and undermining decades of research-backed progress for our most vulnerable learners, according to this teacher.
Federal Dismantling and Early Learning Disparities in Head Start
As a veteran early childhood educator with over 15 years of experience, I’ve witnessed how a quality preschool education can positively change the trajectory of a child’s life. This is why, as a nation, we should be alarmed as President Trump begins dismantling the Federal Department of Education, one of the proposals outlined in Project 2025. Although it will impact the entire education system, I fear our youngest learners will be hit the hardest.
Without a universal preschool system in the United States, early childhood education (ECE) is primarily overseen by individual states. This lack of centralized oversight has led to wide discrepancies in curriculum standards, program quality, assessment tools, and eligibility criteria.
I experienced this firsthand when I moved from Ohio to another state. The fundamental dissonance I observed in preschool quality, pedagogical skill, licensing effectiveness, funding, and knowledge of the Early Learning Standards was shocking and deeply concerning. Ohio mandates that all ECE facilities, including home-based providers, participate in Step Up To Quality, the state’s quality rating system. Imagine my surprise when I learned that in this new state, despite having a quality rating system, none of the public preschool classrooms and very few local early childhood centers were required to participate.
As the Department of Education faces continued layoffs and threats of closure, scenarios like this may become more common. Without federal guidance, states will have unchecked authority over education policy, and children’s opportunities will depend even more on ZIP code, race, and economic status. The result will be limited access and diminished support for programs that nurture the critical brain development of our youngest and most vulnerable learners.
An Even Bigger Threat: Elimination of Head Start
As Trump implements Project 2025 and begins reshaping the federal government, an even bigger threat lies within the pages of this 900-page document: the elimination of the Head Start program. This move would be devastating to the field of early childhood education and to the vulnerable population it serves.
The proposal’s author, Roger Severino, cites what he describes as the program’s history of ‘scandal and abuse.’ Between October 2015 and May 2020, 1 in 4 Head Start centers had reports of child abuse, unsupervised children, or unauthorized releases. While any risk to children is unacceptable and deserves attention, Severino uses these incidents to argue for the program’s elimination, rather than advocating for reform or oversight. He also claims that Head Start offers little long-term academic benefit, yet he provides no research or credible evidence to support this claim.
As an early childhood education specialist with a Master of Education focusing on preschool policy and advocacy, I find his argument both misleading and dangerous.
Research overwhelmingly shows that high-quality early childhood education, especially for children from low-income households — the very population Head Start serves —has measurable, long-term benefits. These include improved school readiness, reduced achievement gaps, and enhanced social-emotional development.
Consider just a few landmark studies in the field:
These longitudinal studies consistently show that children who attend high-quality preschool programs are more likely to graduate from high school, earn higher incomes, maintain better health, and have reduced involvement with the criminal justice system. The return on investment for early education is not speculative; it is well-documented and real.
The Disconnect in Leadership
After researching Severino and reviewing his background on numerous websites, one cannot help but be impressed with his academic and professional achievements, including several leadership roles in government. However, I found no evidence of direct experience in early childhood education or even general education.
This highlights a frustrating trend: why are policies that affect marginalized groups and specialized populations so often crafted by individuals with no expertise or lived experience in those areas?
While I do not hold the same degrees or titles as Mr. Severino, I possess deep expertise in how young children learn and develop. I have worked alongside dedicated educators who know what quality early learning looks like and how to achieve it for many years. To be fair, I want to acknowledge my limitations: I have not worked directly in the Head Start program, nor have children attended preschool in this system. Thus, my perspective and opinions are informed by professional relationships and observations, not internal evaluations.
That said, the mission of Head Start is to provide comprehensive educational, health, nutritional, and social services to low-income families, and this remains essential. It is a model designed to close opportunity gaps. While it can be improved through better accountability, dismantling it would harm the very children it seeks to uplift.
Reclaiming the Vision for Education
If we truly want to ‘Make America Great Again”, we must recognize that a nation’s strength is directly tied to the quality of its education system. To compete globally, strengthen our workforce, and promote equity, change needs to start with our youngest citizens. Research shows what works: investment in high-quality early education, trained teachers, clear standards that can be authentically assessed through play, and ongoing professional development. Yet there remains the gap between what we know and what we do, and until we put this researched knowledge into practice, we are not providing today’s youth with the education they deserve.
Frederick Douglass once said, ‘It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.’
For too long, our education system has focused on trying to fix what’s broken after the fact. Now is the time to be proactive. Let’s build strong children—intentionally, equitably, and urgently. Let’s improve, not dismantle, programs that serve as lifelines for millions of families. And let’s trust those who know the field, early childhood educators, not political strategists, to lead the way forward.
Ann Olsen is an Early Childhood Education Specialist whose journey into the field began by advocating for her oldest child’s developmental and educational needs. That experience ignited a lifelong passion for ensuring that all young children receive a high- quality, a developmentally appropriate start to their education. With over 15 years of experience as a preschool director, coordinator, educator, and mentor, she brings deep
knowledge of child development, social-emotional learning, and early learning standards. Her leadership has shaped teacher trainings, influenced district-wide initiatives, and contributed to securing numerous grants in support of early learning.
