The conceptual framework for FACES 2009 illustrates
the complex interrelationships that help shape the
developmental trajectories of children in Head Start
(Figure 1). The child’s place is primary and constitutes
the central core of the relationships depicted in the
figure; fostering his or her progress toward school
readiness, broadly construed, is Head Start’s ultimate
goal. The family context—health, economic, and
educational resources, as well as cultural factors—
forms the first ring of influences surrounding the child.
Membership in the Head Start community is reflected
in the child’s classroom and teachers and the wider
Head Start program, all of which influence the quality
of the early childhood learning experience.