Political Quotes

“today I express my support for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers, 21st CCLC, initiative, the only Federal funding source dedicated to supporting successful afterschool programs around the country. This program is critical to our children's and our economy's success. For many American families, it is necessary for both parents to work outside the home, and these families face true challenges in finding affordable childcare services. This is a problem not only for parents of infants and toddlers too young to go to school, but also for parents of school-age children who would otherwise be left unsupervised in those critical hours between the end of the schoolday and the end of the workday. In Maryland, 25 percent of children in grades K-12 are responsible for taking care of themselves after school. Studies show that millions of children around our Nation are left on their own after school to devastating effects. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have concluded that two-thirds of the achievement gap between lower and higher income youth can be explained by unequal access to out-of-school activities, especially during the summer months.”