After months of mobilizing staff, parents and community allies from Watts and Koreatown to East Los Angeles, Early Childhood Federation President Ruben Siguenza recently sent supporters some bad news. “I regret to inform you that our fight is over,” Siguenza wrote in an April 18 email. “We have lost Kedren Head Start.”

The fight to save the early education program drew broad support. In March, Rep. Maxine Waters called on the U.S. Health and Human Services Dept. to investigate the Los Angeles County Office of Education for forcing Kedren CEO John Griffin to relinquish the 49-year-old agency’s Head Start contracts.

“We put up a great fight against the county office,” Siguenza said, “something the Head Start field never saw before.”