Re: “Federal education cuts hit WA schools hard” (July 3, Schooling Lab):
Thanks for addressing the dangerous impacts withholding state training funding may have on faculties. Nevertheless, you missed acknowledging the devastating impression it will have for younger folks’s entry to after-school and summer time programming throughout Washington.
With the lack of $20.8 million in twenty first Century Neighborhood Studying Heart funding, 1000’s of younger individuals are at risk of shedding entry to crucial programming that retains them protected and supported. This will probably be notably devastating in rural and underresourced components of our state.
Children will probably be put in danger — and can lose floor. These enriching packages preserve youngsters protected, enhance faculty and social engagement, and assist younger folks thrive. Analysis exhibits that youth in packages do higher in class, usually tend to graduate and are higher ready for the workforce.
At Faculty’s Out Washington, we stay dedicated to advocating for an equitable ecosystem of expanded studying packages. Younger folks deserve the chance to thrive and notice their full potential.
We are going to stand with Washington’s youth and households and mobilize our communities to demand the discharge of the Fiscal Yr 2025 funds. The stakes are too excessive to stay silent.
Elizabeth Whitford, CEO, Faculty’s Out Washington, Tukwila
