Washington, D.C. – The National Head Start Association (NHSA) today announced its 2015 Winter Leadership Institute Awards, which honored esteemed Members of Congress who have worked tirelessly to expand access to quality early learning and have displayed an unyielding commitment to advancing the cause of Head Start children and families.
This week 300 Head Start leaders are gathered in Washington to celebrate Head Start’s 50th Anniversary and renew their shared commitment to providing quality, comprehensive early childhood education to the nation’s most vulnerable children and families. As part of Head Start’s 50th Anniversary celebrations, and to recognize the bipartisan spirit that has kept Head Start strong for 50 years, NHSA presented four distinguished awards at a breakfast on Capitol Hill to honor Members of Congress who embody Head Start’s true commitment to opening a window of opportunity for the nation’s most at-risk children.
The awardees are as follows:
Lady Bird Johnson Award
This annual award, created in 2007 by the Massachusetts Head Start Association, was named after Claudia “Lady Bird” Johnson in commemoration of her role as Honorary Chair of Head Start during the Johnson administration. Previous recipients include the late Senator Edward Kennedy (2007), Rep. George Miller (2008), Elliott Richardson (posthumously in 2009), Rep. Dave Obey (2009), Senator Chris Dodd (2010), Senator George Voinovich (2010), Senator Dick Durbin (2012), and Senator Patty Murray (2013)
§ Rep. Hal Rogers (KY-05)
50 Years of Commitment Award
This new award will recognize a Member of Congress for his or her career-long support and commitment to Head Start.
§ Rep. Rosa DeLauro (CT-03)
Head Start PROMISE Award (PRotecting Opportunities for our Most Important Students Early)
These new awards will annually recognize no more than 10 Members of Congress for consistently working in a bipartisan manner to advance the needs of Head Start children and families.
- Senator Thad Cochran (MS)
- Senator Susan Collins (ME)
- Senator Lisa Murkowski (AK)
- Senator Bob Casey (PA)
- Senator Chris Murphy (CT)
- Rep. Nita Lowey (NY-17)
- Rep. Bobby Scott (VA-03)
- Rep. John Kline (MN-02)
- Rep. Kevin Yoder (KS-03)
“As we celebrate Head Start’s 50th Anniversary, we are delighted to honor these Members of Congress who have been stalwart supporters of the Head Start vision,” said NHSA Executive Director Yasmina Vinci. “We look forward to continuing our shared commitment and working with our partners in Congress to provide quality, comprehensive early childhood education to our most vulnerable children, families and communities.”
Additional information about the National Head Start Association can be found at www.nhsa.org.
