by Alvin Buyinza

As the government shutdown grinds on into its sixth week, Head Start, the iconic program designed to help children from low-income households improve school readiness, is now among the many federally funded services that have officially run out of money.

Experts say that the funding lapse, effective Nov. 1, means hundreds of thousands of Black pre-K schoolchildren — a disproportionate number of whom depend on the 1960s-era program for meals, health screenings, and family support services — could soon fall behind.

When the calendar changed, 140 Head Start programs across 41 states and Puerto Rico lost funding for the fiscal year, according to the National Head Start Association. On. Nov. 1, nearly 10% of all Head Start schools will shut down.

Since Head Start programs’

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