Education doesn’t end with the school bell. Quality afterschool programs and summer opportunities promote academic and social success, keep children safe while parents work, limit summer learning loss, and provide a significant return on investment. DC should invest $25 million to give low-income students the same enriching, high quality Out-of-School-Time (OST) opportunities as their higher-income peers.
There’s well-founded concern among parents, educators, and advocates that DC is not adequately funding enough out-of-school-time opportunities. Since Fiscal Year 2010, the citywide budget for OST Programs has been slashed by 63%. This cut, while devastating to families across DC, especially affects parents who can’t afford expensive programs. There are currently 6,000 low-income students without afterschool options, and 25,000 low-income students without summer programming—$25 million would change that.
This month, DCFPI is joining forces with the parent leaders of Parents Amplifying Voices in Education (PAVE) and DC Alliance of Youth Advocates (DCAYA) to call on Mayor Bowser to invest $25 million to increase access to high-quality OST Programs.
Join the parent-led #WeNeed25 advocacy campaign and fight for greater access to OST Programs in our city! The time to change the way DC prioritizes OST programs is now! Call, email, and tweet Mayor Bowser and your councilmember, and tell them that DC students deserve access to high-quality OST Programs. Record yourself telling our elected officials why #WeNeed25. Tag @dcpave, @DCFPI, and @DCAYA and we’ll share your video!
Watch the video below and visit this site to learn more!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJKSa5zfIBE
