Join the #WeNeed25 movement to close the gap and fully fund Out of School Time (OST) Programs!

Across the city, families are voicing their concern that DC is not adequately funding opportunities for children to participate in afterschool or summer enrichment programs. Since Fiscal Year 2010, the citywide budget for OST Programs has been slashed by 63%, leading to an enormous step back in the number of programs being offered citywide. We know that all kids deserve access to high-quality OST Programs, but with funding cuts like this, our most vulnerable students are being left behind. In October, the DC Policy Center reported their findings on the citywide need for additional OST Programming opportunities. They found that even under the narrowest goal—providing subsidized (free or low cost) OST programs to children and youth in households at or below the poverty line—the District still needs to provide and fund summer programming for 12,200 children in grade 8 and below. Read their full report here.

The time to change the way DC prioritizes OST programs is now! #WeNeed25 is a grassroots, parent-led advocacy campaign to call on Mayor Bowser to dedicate $25 million to OST programming in the Fiscal Year 2019 budget. 

Read about the critical need for more OST funding here.

 

Sign the #WeNeed25 Petition

 

 

 

 

 

Take Action: Call and tweet the Mayor and your councilmember and tell them #WeNeed25!