Ed Markey visits Chicopee Head Start program amid concerns over proposed funding cuts

From learning the alphabet to building social skills, children in Chicopee are getting a head start on their education. 20H News reporter Sarah Bien-Aimé joins us live in the studio with what's at stake as leaders work to protect the program's future. That's right, Claire. Our leaders are fighting to protect the program's future because there are potential federal budget cuts. A, B, C, D. It's more than just playtime inside Westover Head Start in Chicopee. I heard all these kids, three years old, four years old, and five years old, singing the ABC song. And I did not sing that song until I was in the first grade at age six. Federal, state, and local leaders got a first-hand look at that learning Thursday afternoon. While each walked through the classrooms, talked with the teachers, they also spent time with the kids. She could be a future architect. I myself was the Head Start kid. And all of this work, Definitely does not happen overnight by ourselves. We have great partners because of the trust that they have in our system. We also have another beautiful center in Chicopee that the city of Chicopee graciously rented to us for a dollar a year. With the Holyoke-Chicopee Springfield Head Start program helping to serve over 600 kids, families, and expectant mothers, they're now in need of more than $16 billion to keep running. The city of Chicopee offers free preschool. And now, Senator Ed Markey warned them that a Trump administration wants to cut Head Start funding from $12 billion down to $9.8 billion. And they're calling it a savings. And I call it a cut, which is absolutely essential that we not allow for there to be a cut. Now here locally, the two counselors that were on the tour already introduced a resolution to protect Head Start funding, which the city council passed earlier this month. Working for you, Sarah Bien-Aimé, 22 News.