Higher Achievement finds many things to applaud in President Obama’s budget proposal for FY2013. We’re glad to see the President recognizes the value of supporting student learning beyond the traditional school day. Most importantly the budget maintains funding for the 21st Century Community Learning Center program at $1.153 billion.
This critical funding stream fuels many of the high-quality afterschool and summer programs that give disadvantaged youth critical opportunities that help prevent and close the achievement gap. 21st CCLC dollars allow Higher Achievement to engage our scholars in small-group academic mentoring through the school year; hands-on, in-depth summer learning activities that prevent the summer slide; and exciting events like a regional love poetry contest and a 3-day college trip.
The budget also provides $1.1 billion (a 1% increase) to continue the valuable work of the Corporation for National and Community Service; the AmeriCorps and VISTA programs give much needed capacity to Higher Achievement and enable us to leverage the talents of committed volunteers to serve our communities with greater depth and authenticity.
We wholeheartedly support the administration’s drive to put all children on the path to college and career readiness. We know from research and experience that middle school is the last best chance to ensure scholars are prepared for the rigors of high school and college. We hope that the currently divisive Congress can be inspired by the President’s proposal to make the smart investments needed to ensure all of our young citizens get the educational supports they need and deserve.
For more information on details on how the budget proposal affects education funding, click here:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2013/assets/education.pdf
