Presidential candidate and Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd visited HACAP’s Urban location July 26th. The Senator, a long time champion of the national Head Start program, job shadowed Head Start teacher and SEIU Worksite Leader Colleen Mehaffey. Click here to watch the powerful video.
Senator Dodd began the day by having breakfast with Colleen and her husband Norman, a scientist for University of Iowa Hospitals. Work began at 7:15 with the prepping of the classrooms. The Senator spent the rest of the morning as an assistant teacher participating in the regular Head Start schedule with the children. “He sat on the little chairs and got down to their eye level on his hands and knees…he knew how to be with kids.” Colleen also related that the Senator ate with the children, brushed his teeth with them, participated in ‘small group journal writing’, enjoyed a Curious George computer game, building blocks, and the Nutritional Education Experience which on that day involved shucking sweet corn and shaking cream into butter. “At the end of the day the children hugged him and did not want him to leave.”
When asked about the experience Senator Dodd responded that it was “Humbling. We can talk about it in the abstract, but when you see it…there is no break, they (Head Start teachers) are on the job all the time, from the time you arrive until the time you leave, you have to be focused, you have to be engaged.” Dodd is a long time supporter of Head Start, “I want Americans to see how tax dollars matter in the lives of children…these kids are smart, they are ready to start school” Senator Dodd also applauded Colleen’s dedication and 25 years of experience. The Head Start ‘Senator of the Decade’ described Urban as a “Great Head Start Program”
When asked to sum up the event, which was sponsored by the Service Employees International Union’s Walk a Day in Their Shoes program, Senator Dodd responded “It was a great day. You don’t really walk in their shoes; I drafted in her shoes. These people make a difference in the kids’ lives.”