BATON ROUGE - In a press conference on Tuesday, Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome announced her new 'Head Start Restart' initiative, hoping to create a solid foundation for the program, expand eligibility, and retain more instructors.

Broome said Head Start Restart will help close the education of students of low-income families, addressing decades-old problems with the program.

"We had to work tirelessly to fix the foundation of Head Start before we could innovate and create something new. That's what we did. Of course, I inherited a lot of compliance and operational issues that also had to be addressed," Broome said.

The Head Start Restart initiative will begin with a public-private partnership with a group called LaForce, a non-profit, which will operate three additional early childhood facilities based out of existing City-Parish buildings.

"We know that the success of this public-private partnership pilot will be the launch of a whole new way of working together to meet the needs of our youngest citizens in the City of Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish," LaForce Executive Director Leigh Griffin said.

Broome said it will add 280 children to the Head Start program's capacity. These seats are intended for families who may need the Head Start program but do not currently qualify. The other seven Head Start sites will still be run by East Baton Rouge Human Development and Services.

"Through this partnership, we will not only maintain current enrollment but also broaden the services we provide. Including before and after school care and options for children zero to five years old, offering critical support for parents across East Baton Rouge Parish," Broome said.

Another part of the Head Start Restart program? A proposed increase in salaries. For Head Start teachers and case managers, an increase to $48,000. For teacher's aides, an increase to $35,000. These pay increases are dependent on approval from the Administration for Children and Families, Office of Head Start.

According to Mark Armstrong, communication director for the Office of the Mayor-President, the Metro Council approved salary increases in 2022. He said teachers with associates degrees increased to $32,046, advanced teachers' salaries increased to $43,741, and teacher's aides increased to $27,681.

Broome said by paying teachers more and increasing competitive pay, students will have better outcomes from the Head Start program.

"It is crucial for attracting and retaining the talented professionals our children deserve," Broome said. "After years of addressing decades-old issues to stabilize Head Start, ensure compliance, and implement quality control, we equipped Head Start to embrace innovation."