Milwaukee Public Schools' Head Start program suspended due to 'deficiencies'

MILWAUKEE - Happening Tuesday, May 21, Milwaukee Public Schools said federal funding for its Head Start program will be suspended.

The federal funding is supposed to be suspended for 30 days.

The district said there will be no impact, however, some are still concerned.

SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News

Beverly Hamilton-Williams with Community Together Voices of Milwaukee's Children said the children need this program.

Milwaukee Public Schools

"It’s an absolute travesty for our children under five who are low income," she said.

Last week, MPS alerted the public that the Administration of Children and Families would  be suspending federal funding for the Head Start program for 30 days, effective May 21 at 5 p.m., due to three program deficiencies that occurred since 2022. 

The agency said the suspension was issued because MPS failed to establish a system to ensure the safety of students in the program.

Milwaukee Public Schools

FOX6 News took those concerns to Monday’s special meeting on May 20.

"We intensified how we are following the Head Start standards. The other thing was supervision of students. We’ve put more people in classrooms," Chief Academic Officer Jennifer Mims-Howell said. "And finally, training for staff and volunteers that come into our classrooms."

FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX6 News app for iOS or Android.

She said the suspension will not impact the 1,200 students or staff in the program.

Milwaukee Public Schools

"This five-year grant was set to expire May 30, so with the suspension coming in tomorrow, it’s only nine days," Mims-Howell said.

The school district said it does have a new plan in place that should meet the federal standards, that will hopefully help when it comes to getting the grant renewed for the upcoming school year.