Preschool California is excited to see that the budget President Obama sent to Congress on Feb. 1 builds on the expansion to early learning programs made through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, including a proposed $8.2 billion for Head Start and Early Head Start. Across California, the stimulus funding has already created hundreds of new early childhood education spaces in Head Start and Early Head Start classrooms, and new jobs for teachers and staff. Here are just some examples:  

Good Beginnings Preschool in the Pico-Union area	Good Beginnings Preschool Leave Behind
Monte Vista Head Start in South El Monte	Monte Vista Head Start Leave Behind
Merced County Office of Education	Merced Leave Behind
Fresno County Economic Opportunity Commission	Fresno Leave Behind
Anne Darling Head Start in San Jose	Anne Darling Head Start Leave Behind
East Palo Alto Head Start	East Palo Alto Head Start Leave Behind
City of Oakland	City of Oakland Leave Behind
Santa Cruz Community Counseling Center	Santa Cruz Community Counseling Center Leave Behind
Mexican American Opportunity Foundation in Montebello	----

Media CoverageClips

• Merced Sun-Star. County gets Head Start grant. Jan 29. By Jamie Oppenheim.
• San Mateo County Times. Grant to help launch early-childhood program. Jan 31. By Neil Gonzales.
• East Palo Alto Today. Head Start and Early Head Start. Feb 2010.
• KGO-TV. Peninsula Head Start program gets $1.9M stimulus boost. Feb 2. By Lyanne Melendez.
• LA Indy Media. New funding for early learning in President Obama’s budget proposal. Feb 4. By Rebecca Chamow.
• San Mateo Daily Journal. Letter: Preschool programs key to future academic success. Feb 10. By Cheryl Shrewsbury
• New America Media. School Matters: 7,000 Head Start Spots at risk. Feb 12. By Catherine Atkin.
• San Jose Mercury News. Fisher: Head Start is a good investment. Feb 16. By Patty Fisher.
• Merced Sun-Star. Merced County to use stimulus funds for Head Start hires. Feb 17.