What is "head start"

n. 1 (context idiomatic English) An advantage consisting in starting a competition or task earlier than might be expected; given (or taken), for example, prior to the beginning of a race. 2 (context idiomatic English) A factor conducive to superiority and success.

n. advantage gained by an early start as in a race; "with an hour's start he will be hard to catch" [syn: start]

Head Start is a program of the United States Department of Health and Human Services that provides comprehensive early childhood education, health, nutrition, and parent involvement services to low-income children and their families. The program's services and resources are designed to foster stable family relationships, enhance children's physical and emotional well-being, and establish an environment to develop strong cognitive skills. The transition from preschool to elementary school imposes diverse developmental challenges that include requiring the children to engage successfully with their peers outside of the family network, adjust to the space of a classroom, and meet the expectations the school setting provides.

Launched in 1965 by its creator and first director Jule Sugarman, Head Start was originally conceived as a catch-up summer school program that would teach low-income children in a few weeks what they needed to know to start elementary school. The Head Start Act of 1981 expanded the program. The program was revised when it was reauthorized in December 2007. Head Start is one of the longest-running programs attempting to address the effects of systemic poverty in the United States by intervening to aid children. , more than 22 million children had participated. The current director of Head Start is Blanca Enriquez, who was appointed in 2015.

Head Start is an Australian television drama series that ran for forty episodes on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 2001.

Head start may refer to:

• Head Start (program), an educational program of the United States Department of Health and Human Services
• Head start (positioning), a lead in the position in which one starts
• Head Start (TV series), an Australian television drama series that ran for forty episodes on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 2001
• Head Start Music Group, a record label founded in 2005
• Operation Head Start, a Cold War operation in which B-52 Stratofortress bombers were launched and placed on rotation off Greenland and Canada

In positioning, a 'head start" is a start in advance of the starting position of others in competition, or simply toward the finish line or desired outcome. Depending on the situation, a head start may be inherent, obtained by special privilege, earned through one's accomplishments, or granted mercifully by an opponent.

While not guaranteeing success, a head start will increase such chances.