Dad’s Schoolwork A Grade Above Volunteer Gets State Head Start Honor

Dan Harrington is a single dad with a disabling illness, but that didn’t stop him from pitching in at his son’s preschool.

His efforts were recognized Monday with the statewide Head Start Parent of the Year award.

“It’s easy to tell your child that education is important,” Harrington said in an interview. “But unless you’re there beside them, showing them …”

Harrington was presented the award by North Idaho Head Start director Doug Fagerness, then was honored at a luncheon at the Harding Family Center.

Beside him was his son, Ryan, who was feeling under the weather and was the only one in the room who didn’t clap at his dad’s recognition.

Ryan is a kindergartner at Borah Elementary School. He attended Head Start at the Shoshone Center in Kellogg last year.

The federally funded program is meant to improve parenting skills as well as teach young children. So, like other parents, Harrington attended monthly workshops.

But his involvement went further, said Janet Lake, the Head Start staffer who nominated him for the award.

He headed the parent committee, which involved organizing fund-raising events. His family donated a bicycle that was raffled off, Lake said.

Harrington also served on the policy committee, which is Head Start’s equivalent of a local school board.

And he helped start a scholarship fund. It will benefit North Idaho College students who started their academic careers at the 26-year-old Shoshone County Head Start program.

Harrington managed to do all of that, Lake said, “even though he’s a single dad with custody of his son.”

Harrington suffers from rheumatoid arthritis and has been unable to work. He’s been going to school, though. He just completed an associate degree at North Idaho College, and has begun classes at Lewis-Clark State College. He hopes to be a social worker.

Helping out at Head Start helped clarify his career goal, he said.

“It inspired me in the direction of what I wanted to do, which is work with children.”

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