Used to be, nearly everyone--Democrat or Republican--loved Head Start, the federal preschool program for kids from low-income families. And why not? It's one of the most successful government programs of the past forty years. Those familiar with Head Start attribute its effectiveness to just how comprehensive it is. A child in Head Start benefits not only from time in the classroom but also from required parental involvement, healthcare screenings and follow-ups (including vaccinations and dental care), nutritious meals and help with special needs.

This makes sense to anyone who's ever raised children, who tend to get cranky when hungry, spacey when sick and excited when their parents get excited about, say, books. A teacher can read One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish until she's blue in the face, but if the kid is combating an empty stomach, down with the whooping cough or sorely missing a mother whose energies are directed at simple survival, Dr. Seuss (or any other lessons) will go in one ear and out the other. You have to help the whole kid succeed--especially a kid who is growing up in poverty, who often doesn't get the experiences a middle-class kid takes for granted. Head Start is one of the few federal programs that aim for equality among the socioeconomic classes. Supporting it was a way for politicians of any stripe to declare their commitment to those they saw as the most deserving poor: children.

That's all changed. If George W. Bush and like-minded conservatives have their druthers, the program will be the subject of a huge educational experiment, involving state control and a shift to pure academics. This fall, Congress will decide the fate of Head Start.

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