Delores Canning of Lewiston, Idaho knows inside-out how effective Head Start is after 26 years of involvement as a parent, volunteer, Policy Council Chair and Transportation Coordinator. Delores was named the 1998-1999 Idaho Head Start Transportation Supervisor of the Year.

Her Head Start story begins in the early 70s when her husband was involved in a construction accident which resulted in a broken back. He had no insurance, and his injury left him out of work for a year.

Delores had to withdraw her older son from private kindergarten due to the family’s financial situation. The Head Start director in her area knew of the family’s circumstances and sent a recruiter to their home. When her youngest son, John, turned five in 1973 she enrolled him in Head Start, as there was no public kindergarten available. She tells of how he entered the program a shy child, the youngest of five and a “follower,” and came out a leader. She says that the most important thing that he learned is that “I can do anything anybody else can do.” His mom proudly boasts that he paid for his entire college education, through scholarships and by working as a teaching assistant, lab assistant, and providing personal care for another student in a wheelchair. He won a local and a state Head Start scholarship, which encouraged him to apply for more, including a Presidential scholarship, a Potlatch scholarship, and an Alcoa scholarship. His mom says, “I only paid for one month’s dorm rent!” He graduated Summa Cum Laude, and now holds a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering, as well as an important and interesting research position at the University of Idaho.

Delores talks about how the whole family benefited from Head Start, and how “the learning spreads through the family.” She lauds the benefits of dental, health and nutrition education, and how Head Start helps families to be aware of setting goals, beyond just getting through high school. She notices that in public school, kids who haven’t had the Head Start experience come in “clutching their mother’s skirts” and how “the confident kids come from Head Start.” Likewise, the parents who come from Head Start have the skills to take over the PTA, fund-raising and school carnivals.