Building Community.
Dedicated to training and advocacy for those who impact the lives of children and families.
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Head Start is a national child development program for children from birth to age 5, which provides services to promote academic, social and emotional development for income-eligible families.
The Virginia Head Start Association dedicates itself to training and advocacy which enhances and fosters growth of individual members, member agencies, partners and others who impact the lives of children and families.
Every day this shutdown continues, children and families are paying the price across the country. Head Start is not a political issue. It is a lifeline for working families.
This shutdown is pulling the rug out from under families who rely on Head Start. Parents are losing child care, teachers are losing paychecks, and children are losing the safe, nurturing environments that help them grow and thrive. These are real people facing real consequences, and they deserve better.
We need your help to send a loud, unified, and persistent message: The shutdown is threatening Head Start. Congress must end it now and ensure no more closures.
Please take a moment to email your Members of Congress and urge them to act! End the shutdown now, reopen classrooms, and prevent further closures.
Take Action– email Members of Congress with this fillable form:
Act Now
Programs Served
Community Members
Children Helped
The Virginia Head Start Association strives to engage all partners, including parents, teachers, family service workers, and managers to keep the success story of Head Start alive for elected and public officials, community partners, and taxpayers. Head Start is publicly funded but this funding should not be taken for granted. Head Start parents and advocates play a key role in establishing and maintaining positive communication with the legislative and administrative branches of government.
The Virginia Head Start Association is an intricate part of advocacy that wholeheartedly supports all Head Start programs, staff, children, and families across the commonwealth. The mission speaks for itself […]
The Virginia Head Start Association is the backbone to all our programs here in the Commonwealth by providing a base and support as we navigate the ever changing world of […]
The Association provides for Head Start leaders what we provide for children and family: support, encouragement, and hope.
As a community partner, I am proud to be part of the Virginia Head Start Association, serving the families and children in our state.
The Virginia Head Start Association is a pillar of strength for the Virginia Head Start Community. VAHSA provides professional development opportunities which include diversity and inclusion for Head Start staff […]
The work of VAHSA allows us to network with all service areas all across the Commonwealth by creating opportunities to network, train, brainstorm, and communicate across all the Head Start […]
The work and support of the association has been instrumental to me in every role I’ve been in Head Start; a teacher, an education manager, and now as director. It’s […]
Alexandria, Va. – With the federal government finally reopened after more than 40 days of gridlock, the National Head Start Association (NHSA) honors the extraordinary efforts of the Head Start […]
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ALEXANDRIA, VA — The National Head Start Association (NHSA) is alarmed by today’s announcement from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HSS) that will require Head Start programs […]
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On July 3rd, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the budget reconciliation bill—known as the “Big Beautiful Bill”—which President Trump signed on July 4th. There are many harmful impacts this […]
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“The president championed Head Start during his first term, providing critical resources to help families and their children build a strong foundation for lifelong success,” said Yasmina Vinci, executive director […]
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Today, President Trump released his administration’s proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2026, which includes flat funding for Head Start, meaning our programs would be funded at the same level for […]
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In the six decades of Head Start’s existence, it has served nearly 40 million children and their families. But supporters and alumni are quick to point out that the program […]
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After an early draft of President Donald Trump’s budget threatened to defund the Head Start program, Jennifer Garner leapt into action to lobby Congress and save the program that serves […]
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RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Head Start programs across Virginia could soon face major challenges. Proposed federal cuts by the Trump administration would impact thousands of children who rely on this […]
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The Trump Administration, which has promised to dismantle the Department of Education, has come after higher education—freezing funding for elite universities and revoking international student visas. Now, it’s targeting early […]
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HHS would be asked to absorb a $40 billion cut, about one-third of its discretionary budget.
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Worries are growing over funding for Head Start, the decades-old federal program that provides childcare, nutrition assistance and other services to the nation’s poorest families. Why it matters: Shuttering the […]
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WASHINGTON – The Trump administration is considering a budget proposal that would zero out funding for Head Start, a program created during Lyndon B. Johnson’s “war on poverty” that offers […]
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The Administration for Children and Families released a final rule in the Federal Register, Supporting the Head Start Workforce and Consistent Quality Programming. The rule updates the Head Start Program Performance […]
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Kim Hill Elected President Of Virginia Head Start Association Board Of Directors Kim Hill, People Incorporated’s Associate Director of Child and Family Development, has been elected as the new President […]
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The Virginia Head Start Association recently hosted our Health Conference in Charlottesville, Virginia, welcoming health specialists, family service Head Start specialists, and other health professionals. The conference was pleased to […]
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In honor of Native American Heritage Month, we want to share a profile of some attendees to our Annual Conference, The Chickahominy Tribe of Charles City, Virginia. While it is […]
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Meet our Northwest parent Board Rep: Kerri Banks Kerri is our Northwest region Parent rep on our board. She is a parent with Skyline CAP Program. Kerri started with Head […]
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While you can see all of our Board and meeting minutes on our Leadership page here: https://headstartva.org/about-us/our-leadership/ We want to share a little bit more about a few of our […]
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We have many new program Directors for 2022 and we would like to welcome and support them here on our VAHSA website. If you know of anyone who should be […]
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We are pleased to announce the 2022 winners of our Annual Nancy Elmore Scholarship recipients. The Nancy Elmore Scholarship is a wonderful opportunity for two people to receive some financial […]
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Reconceptualizing Social Determinants of Health and Working Towards Systemic Change . . . is one of the many engaging offerings we have lined up for our Virtual Health […]
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The 2020 VAHSA Parent Ambassadors visited Richmond on January 22 to share their compelling stories with State Delegates and Senators about how Head Start has impacted their lives. They valued […]
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Our group with First Lady Pam Northam Virginia Head Start Parent Ambassadors joined other ECE stakeholders in advocating for early childhood education at the State Capitol. They brought their children […]
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By Jennifer Lazzo Head Start. It’s an easily recognizable name, but do you know what the program is designed to do? Head Start provides young children from low-income families and children […]
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The Governor and First Lady announced an Executive Directive to establish an Executive Leadership Team on School Readiness, which will be co-chaired by Commissioner Duke Soren and Chief School Readiness […]
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Virginia First Lady Pamela Northam, and Chief School Readiness Officer Jenna Conway, visit Head Start classrooms and other early childhood facilities in a Back to School Tour. In June 2018, […]
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Dr. Deborah Bergeron, Director of the Office of Head Start, visited Prince William County Head Start program on June 5, 2018. Dr. Bergeron visited three Head Start classrooms to learn […]
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