NATCHEZ — Dr. La’Toya Scott Hammett, Principal of Susie B. West Elementary School, said she has seen firsthand the effect having an early Head Start education has on a student, particularly when they enter kindergarten.

“Most of the students who are coming from Head Start, we’re expecting them to be prepared,” Hammett said. “With the federal cuts, we don’t have as many students being prepared. We have standards that they must attain when they get here and it makes it difficult when they don’t have that background.”

Hammett explained that the first few crucial weeks of school can either be spent teaching students the basic, necessary skills needed in a school environment, like how to take turns on the playground, how to walk in a line or behave in a cafeteria. Or, it can focus on the more important skills they’ll need to be successful in the first grade, like math and literacy.

With between 150 and 180 students starting kindergarten each year, around 60 percent come from daycare, preschool, or from Head Start, she said.

“We can tell the difference as opposed to those coming straight from home,” she said.

Natchez schools felt the effect of not having a Head Start center at all as the Thompson Head Start Center closed temporarily after June 2021 when its previous managing organization, AJFC Community Action Agency, lost its funding.

“We had students who were not used to being in a structured environment, so it was kind of hard to transition those students into a school setting. There was social emotional separation, being away from mom and dad and coming to school all day in kindergarten. We don’t take naps anymore in kindergarten, so that was something they had to get used to. Just the overall environment of being in school is totally different when they don’t have the background of being in a daycare or childcare facility,” Hammett said.

She added in a class being tracked from pre-kindergarten that is now in third grade, the students who came from Head Start have “been doing exceptionally” compared to the ones who did not.

“We are expecting those students to pass the third-grade assessment on the first try and do better than those who have not had early Head Start,” she said. “At this level, we’re trying to give them a foundation in literacy and by them already knowing the letters — the capital and the lowercase letters — makes it easier. … We try to collaborate with Head Start to bridge the gap so when they get here, it’s easier for the child.”

Head Start is not the only place affected by federal funding cuts, where the Natchez Adams School District is concerned.

Hammett said grant funding that had been used for after-school tutoring has also been cut, so the district has had to absorb the cost.

“Not getting the federal funding really affects the children,” she said. “In special education, we don’t have as much help as we need. I have about 25 students on my roster who are autistic and we need the help sending our teachers to professional development training on how to teach autistic students in the general education classroom.”

Hammett encouraged the community to advocate for early childhood education because “Early literacy is best. The more they know, the higher they’ll grow.”