By Sarah Politis
Listen to an audio by Annenberg Radio News
Pending federal cuts as part of the March sequestration will affect many federal programs. Head Start, a federally-funded preschool for low-income families is one of those programs facing budget cuts.
While there are thousands of children who are part of the program, Philipa Johnson, Interim Director for the Head Start Program at USC said there are 577 children and families in the USC program alone. 
“We’re addressing a need in the community which is to provide quality services to families and high quality education to children from birth to age 5,” Johnson said.
While there is nothing on paper to confirm the sequestor, Johnson is preparing for a five percent cut in funding. Johnson said these cuts would result in personnel cuts and limit the budget for student field trips.
According to a press release from Rick Mockler, the Executive Director of Head Star, an estimated 27,000 children and their families will be dropped from the program in California and about 6,000 staff members will lose their jobs.
“I don’t see where it will impact the children because we will still provide the health services, the educational services, services to children with disabilities,” Johnson said, “We’ll still provide food, nutritional serevices, we will continue providing services, so I don’t really see that, that’s really the framework of the Head Start program.”
However, Head Start isn’t the only federal program on the chopping block. Defense workers and national parks also face cuts.
“This is how you wrap the baby, so she stays warm,” said Preschool Teacher Reshon Moutra recently, as she gently held a doll while giving an impromptu life experience lesson to three preschoolers. 
“They all began to wave and speak to me and instantly, and I felt my mood change from sad to happy,” said Moutra. “It was as if a light bulb illuminated. I called my mom right away and told her, ‘Mama, I know what I want to be! I want to be a preschool teacher,’ and I never looked back.” 
“We’re so impressed that Reshon is working on her Spanish skills,” she said. “As she grapples with a second language, she can better empathize and support her students,” said Para-Rios. “Her expertise is in knowing that expressive language has a timeline, so she relies on the five senses, routines, visuals and gestures to promote communication. When children see her attempt, then they are more apt to do so as well while they learn English.” 
By Jennifer Quinonez
CLASS is an observational evaluation that focuses on effective teaching and interactions, helping educators recognize the power of their own one-on-one connection with students. It’s based on research that indicates that interaction between children and adults is the most important relationship for development and learning. 
The goal of the CLASS is to encourage positive teacher-student interactions in a well-managed environment, where a teacher provides ongoing supportive feedback, along with frequent learning activities that foster language and concept development. 
With more than 10 million residents, Los Angeles County is one of the most heavily populated counties in America. There are more than 155,000 four-year-old children living here, and yet only about 70,000 licensed preschool spaces are even accessible. Since about half of the children in this area are missing out on a preschool education and possibly starting elementary school behind their peers, 
Four-year-old Farid eagerly grabs his father’s hand and leads him into the colorful preschool classroom as fast as he can. 
It’s been proven that the most important years of your child’s development is the first five years of life. That’s because their brain is constantly making connections and in the brain of a four-year-old, a thousand trillion connections are active – twice as much as an adult’s! 
