Making early education in North Carolina more accessible
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios
Less than half of the nation's Head Start centers, a federal, early education program for low-income families, are located within walking distance of a transit stop.
Why it matters: Early childhood education programs can have many spillover benefits, from helping mothers re-enter the workforce to helping children become more successful in school across their childhood years.
- But a lack of transportation is the primary barrier for many parents enrolling their children in Head Start, according to a study from the National Head Start Association.
Driving the news: In North Carolina, 32.9% of Head Start centers are not within walking distance of transit, according to an analysis by the National Head Start Association and the Seldin/Haring-Smith Foundation.
Yes, but: Around 19% of centers nationwide are close enough (within one mile) to existing transit lines that local transit agencies could design new stops for them at a low cost, Abigail Seldin, CEO of the Seldin/Haring-Smith Foundation, told Axios.
State of play: In Raleigh, there are at least two Head Start centers (both in the Eastern part of the city) that the study identifies as candidates for extending transit to, according to a mapping tool from the SHS Foundation.
- There are also two in Durham and three in Chapel Hill that could be candidates.
Zoom in: In collaboration with the study, the city of Memphis relocated three transit stops to be closer to Head Start programs and is advertising Head Start on some of its buses.
- Seldin said she is hopeful more transit agencies can follow that city's example if they study where their routes and Head Start locations don't intersect.
The challenge of transportation is particularly hard for rural areas, like Eastern North Carolina, which might lack a transportation agency.
- In some cases, microtransit, like on-demand cars, have become tools in those places, Seldin said, but many services do not include child seats.
- Within populated areas, though, there are many holes that could be filled in.
Of note: The study considered the walkable range for an adult-accompanied toddler from a transit stop to be a quarter of a mile.
What they're saying: "We shouldn't make it hard for families with young children to access one of America's most successful anti-poverty programs," Seldin said in a statement.
- "Through low-cost changes — like bringing bus stops within walking distance of Head Start Centers — transit agencies across the country will be supporting both families and the critical early childhood workforce," she added.