FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Julie Green (202) 401-3026
January 26, 1998
PRESIDENT, VICE PRESIDENT, FIRST LADY AND U.S. SECRETARY OF EDUCATION ANNOUNCE MOTT FOUNDATION PLEDGE FOR AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS AND REGIONAL CONFERENCES TO ASSIST GRANT APPLICANTS
President Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley today announced that the C.S. Mott Foundation will donate up to $55 million over 5 years to enhance the quality and provide needed technical assistance and training to communities starting or expanding before- and after-school programs for children. Through Mott's generosity, the National Community Education Association, in partnership with the National Center for Community Education and the U.S. Department of Education, will offer 11 regional conferences, beginning next week, to help communities nationwide take advantage of new federal funds for before- and after-school programs.
Congress appropriated $40 million for this grant program for FY98 and the Mott Foundation pledged $2 million in technical assistance, which will help fund the upcoming conferences. President Clinton will request an additional $1 billion over five years in his FY99 budget to further expand this program. Most of the Mott commitment will be used to provide the training, technical assistance and support so that the federal investment in after-school programs can go directly to schools and school-community partnerships to operate after-school extended learning programs.
The regional workshops will assist schools applying for this after-school program expansion through the 21st Century Community Learning Center grants. 21st Century Community Learning Centers help keep schools open as safe, drug-free havens to provide enhanced learning opportunities and help parents find suitable and appropriate before- and after-school activities for their children.
"These grants will help provide safe and exciting learning environments for children before and after school," said Secretary Riley. "These programs offer enriching opportunities for young people to learn about computers, the arts or get basic skills tutoring. Thanks to the Mott Foundation's unique public-private partnership and commitment to this issue, many more families, teachers, communities and parent leaders will be able to get the support and training they need to apply for funding, develop and operate these high quality programs in communities across the country."
"Our responsibility to provide safe, drug-free educational opportunities for our young people does not end when the school bell rings," said Vice President Gore. "That's why President Clinton and I are so committed to helping provide more and better programs for young people at the end of the school day -- giving working parents the assurance that their children are engaged in constructive and educational after-school activities. But this job is too big for any one group alone. That's why I'm pleased to announce a new public-private partnership to help meet the after-school educational needs of our young people. The Mott Foundation grant is a significant and generous step toward meeting this goal."
"Over our 60 years of involvement in community schools, we have seen the profound effect that schools working with communities can have upon children and families," said William S. White, chairman of the Flint, MI-based Mott Foundation. "By opening the schoolhouse doors literally and figuratively to each and every citizen beyond the regular school day, all manner of local problems can be addressed. This historic partnership between the U.S. Department of Education and the Mott Foundation is a fitting symbol of the full spectrum of public and private partnerships we can expect to spring to life as this inevitably grows and is embraced by communities everywhere. We feel privileged to be a part of such an important initiative on behalf of our nation's children and families."
"The President's child care proposal is historic," said First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. "It will improve child care in our country and respond to the struggles our nation's working parents face in finding child care they can afford, trust and rely on. Public-private partnerships, such as this association with the Mott Foundation, allow more children access to the wonderful possibilities and the safe environments offered by before- and after-school programs."
Regional workshops will be held in the following locations to provide potential applicants with the information they need to plan and implement high-quality after-school programs: Feb. 2 in Boston and Atlanta; Feb. 4 in New York and Dallas; Feb. 6 in Washington and St. Louis; Feb. 9 in Los Angeles and Chicago; Feb. 11 in Seattle and Flint, Mich.; and Feb. 13 in Denver. These workshops are free of charge to applicants. Interested participants may register to attend by contacting the National Community Education Association at 703/359-8973.