As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Early Head Start received $1.1 billion in grants, a necessity that President Obama trumpeted throughout his candidacy. But, with all the money coming in, how are agencies getting ready to implement the additional children? This was the main focus of the conference call, which was attended by STN EXPO alumni Nancy Netherland and Susan Hunt, as well as local Head Start representatives from Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Michigan, Oregon, and Illinois, a Type A school bus OEM rep and myself.

Everything from child passenger seats to school bus evacuation drills were discussed. Anything that was not answered was tabled for further research and later discussion. It was another first step in an ongoing evolution of a program that prepares children for kindergarten and leads to successes in every grade beyond.