Advancing Equity Through Head Start's Program Information Report
April 2022
Authors: Dr. Xigrid Soto-Boykin, Dr. Shantel Meek, and Dr. Iheoma U. Iruka
Systemic inequities in access to resources and opportunity affect children, particularly those who have been historically marginalized, before birth and throughout childhood, including within early care and education systems.
Head Start has a long-standing commitment to serving children from under-resourced communities, and since its inception, has served over one million children and their families through early education and related services. Although Head Start prides itself on advancing equity for eligible children and families, and has notable standards that can concretely ensure programs achieve that goal, there are gaps and missed opportunities to advance equity in its data system. To center equity across programmatic functioning, Head Start must operationalize equity in its data systems, including in and starting with the Program Information Report (PIR). This brief provides actionable recommendations to embed equity in the Head Start PIR to enable a greater understanding of equitable and positive experiences for children served.
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Suggested citation:
Soto-Boykin, X., Meek, S.E., Iruka, I.U. (April, 2022). Advancing Equity Through Head Start's Program Information Report. The Children’s Equity Project at Arizona State University. Retrieved from: https://cep.asu.edu/resources/advancing-equity-through-head-start
What is Head Start’s Program Information Report?
The Program Information Report, or PIR, collects annual information about Head Start and Early Head Start programs, including services to children and families and information about staff. CEP’s brief argues that these data can do more to show whether children and families have equitable access to positive experiences within programs. cep.asu.edu
What equity data does the brief recommend adding?
CEP recommends a dedicated equity section in the PIR, with more detailed data about five areas:
- Language access: Whether dual language learners receive home-language support and what language models are used in classrooms.
- Children with disabilities: Whether referrals, services, and disability data can be examined alongside children’s race, ethnicity, and home language.
- The workforce: How staff roles, pay, qualifications, and turnover differ across groups.
- Discipline and transitions: Whether temporary suspensions or moves to another program differ by race, gender, language, or disability status.
- Family experiences: Which families receive services and supports, including families experiencing homelessness and families involved in foster care. cep.asu.edu
The brief also recommends data at the classroom, program, site, and community levels. The authors argue that broad totals alone cannot show whether children in a particular classroom receive language support, inclusive services, and other experiences intended by Head Start standards.
Frequently Asked Questions
PIR stands for Program Information Report. It is an annual source of information about Head Start and Early Head Start programs, the children and families they serve, and their staff.
CEP argues that more specific measures would help programs and researchers identify differences in children’s access to services and their experiences within Head Start. The brief recommends measures related to language, disability, workforce conditions, discipline, and family supports.
Classroom-level data could show what children experience where they learn. For example, a program-wide count of bilingual staff does not show whether a dual language learner has access to a bilingual educator in their own classroom.
The brief recommends information about children’s and staff members’ languages at the classroom level, the language model used for instruction, and the home-language supports children receive.
CEP recommends collecting information on temporary suspensions and transitions to other programs, broken down by characteristics including race, ethnicity, gender, home language, and disability status. This would make disparities easier to identify and address.
Yes. It recommends more detailed reporting on staff positions, qualifications, salaries, and turnover so differences in workforce opportunities and compensation can be examined.