Gail McClellan of Spokane, Washington remembers the vital role Head Start in Boise played in her family’s life when she had to go back to work in 1969 to support her three-year-old twins and husband, a veteran, and student at BSU. “After about a year of struggling financially to keep my husband in school, a roof over our heads and food in our mouths, I secured a job as the Head Start secretary for the local office. This opportunity afforded us a fairly decent living and our children were able to continue the most wonderful advantages available at the time for early education. Not only did they learn how to interact and play with other children of many diverse backgrounds and ethnicities, they learned the most important concept of their lives: to love learning.” Her daughter, a 4.0 student, earned a degree in chemical engineering from the University of Idaho, and her son went on to earn a degree in emergency medicine from Johns Hopkins University. They both settled in Boise to raise “beautiful families.”

“I cannot praise the learning opportunities Head Start afforded my children strongly enough. I believe Head Start is the most important and beneficial social program the United States of America has ever offered its citizens in need. Please continue supporting the program locally and at the federal level. Most people will never know how many lives have been changed, for the better, by Head Start. Not only do the children learn and thrive, but the parents are involved and gain self-esteem also. Head Start is truly an American success story.”