In the early 1960s, two early childhood intervention programs were developed to mitigate the effects of poverty, The Perry Preschool Project and The Head Start Program. The Perry Project was a carefully developed small, short-term, experimental education model implemented from 1962-1965. The Head Start Program was (and is) a large, long-term, federally funded educational program established in 1965 with Community Action Program roots. Both programs were centered on the belief that early intervention could improve school performance for children raised in poverty, and therefore increase their chances of economic success. Given their shared objective, date of development, and demographic population, the two programs have, for better or worse, been strongly linked in research and political rhetoric. In reality, the two programs differ greatly in design, focus, funding, research, and results. A longitudinal study indicates that the Perry students’ early school performance was improved and benefits of the program lasted into adulthood, including lower rates of crime and higher median incomes. The results of the effects of the Head Start Program have not been as well studied, and the studies performed not as well controlled and, hough generally positive impacts have been noted, they are not as clear or as robust as the Perry findings. This research examines the differences between the two programs’ origins, curricula, and designs, using a production function style approach to determine each program’s “inputs” to establish possible reasons for different “outputs.” Included in this research is an examination of the research studies performed, the methodologies used, and the long-term and short-term results shown for each program .Interviews with Western North Carolina Head Start staff are included and representative of the differences in philosophy, curricula, and funding between The Perry Preschool Project and Head Start, as well as the difficulty of the task they are charged with.