Mr. Bob Williamson

Robert D. Williamson, the executive director of the Economic Opportunity Committee of Clark County in Vancouver, Wash., which serves families with children participating in Head Start, said there's much more to Head Start than literacy.

"This emphasis on literacy is distracting," he said.
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But Mr. Williamson said he was worried that Head Start programs' distinctive local approaches to preschoolers' needs could be damaged by federal mandates, such as those planned by the Bush administration.He is concerned about increased testing, he said, and is disappointed that, so far, Head Start officials "haven't had a seat at the table" in developing tests.

"[Preschool] teachers say they're no longer educating children," Mr. Williamson said.

Bob Williamson, executive director of the Economic Opportunity Community of Clark County Inc., is the Head Start administrator in Clark, Pacific and Wahkiakum counties.

Those of us who work in and support Head Start are eager to join a full and fair debate about the program's merits and accomplishments.

Bob Williamson is executive director of the Economic Opportunity Committee of Clark County, the agency that overseas Head Start here as well as locally coordinating state programs providing services for early education and related family assistance.