A journal of ideas for the world of after school and beyond

Vol. 1 no. 14 February 2008

A Wave of Action

Dear  Friends,

During this Presidential Election year, when many of us are looking to the future and change, it has been striking how little talk there has been about education and the needs of our next generation of leaders and citizens. This is a pressing concern in Massachusetts, as articulated in the MA Special Commission on After School and Out of School Time report, Our Common Wealth: Building a Future for our Common Youth,  “if we can ensure that Massachusetts’ children and youth have access to the experiences, opportunities and supports that research and practice has proven is needed for them to be productive and engaged members of our society, our Commonwealth will survive and flourish. If we ignore or refuse this obligation, we risk our own future prosperity and security.”

In the Guest Column on our website and in their report, Senator Thomas McGee and Representative Marie St. Fleur, Co-Chairs of the Special Commission share what they learned through a series of hearings throughout the state where educators, parents, youth, children and many out-of-school time providers testified about the increasing importance of OST programs at a time when those very programs lack the resources to meet the need or, worse, are losing funding. To reverse this decline, we must work together and tear down the traditional boundaries between systems. Jeffrey Nellhaus, Acting Education Commissioner, in our Featured Donor piece “calls for us to think about public education differently, and to consider ways to better integrate early childhood education, human and social services, longer school days and before- and after-school programming in the larger picture.” He also talks about how the MA Department of Education has increased its ASOST Quality Grant budget to meet the needs of providers.

The work of the Commission and DOE are promising but must be viewed as just a beginning. As you read this newsletter, consider what more needs to happen. What do we need to do to spark momentum into a wave of action at the local, state, and national levels?

Thank you for reading,
Boston Beyond