Boxer touts after-school programs
Senator’s Ventura visit highlights Boys & Girls Clubs
By Bill Lascher 03/20/2008
Touting the importance of after school programs for children’s safety and success, U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) paid a visit to a Ventura Boys & Girls Club on March 18.
Boxer toured the Robert Addison Center, the Boys & Girls Club’s location on Ventura’s west side. She used the opportunity to call for the protection of funding for after school programs and to congratulate the center for its ongoing success. She also presented an Excellence in Education award to the club.
“I think one of the wonderful things you see in just 60 seconds here is how happy the children here,” Boxer said.
Welcomed by a contingent of Ventura City Council members, education officials and a county supervisor, Boxer sat in on classes and science lessons and watched hordes of excited young members of the club play. If anything, the visit was a tailor-made photo opportunity for both the senator and the club as media and Boys & Girls Club board members waited for the senator’s arrival amid the laughter and chatter of children running through a playground, playing board games, finishing homework and socializing with friends.
A longtime proponent of after-school programs, the senator used her experience as a legislator and as a mother and grandmother to emphasize her belief that the best way to keep kids safe is to provide an environment where they feel valued and where they are kept busy.
With Nevada Sen. John Ensign, a Republican, Boxer introduced the first federal funding for before- and after-school programs. That legislation, called the 21st Century Community Learning Center law, was wrapped up in the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) after George W. Bush became President, and, Boxer said, is now under-funded like many other NCLB programs.
“When I got to the senate there was absolutely no money for after-school programs, and we got it up to $1 billion,” Boxer said. “Unfortuantely, President Bush has tried to knock it down ever since he came to office, and we have had a knock-down drag out fight, a bipartisan fight.”
Boxer said by now there should be $3 million in funding for 21st Century Community Learning Centers, but the $1 billion they already receive is in danger.
“This is not just a question of statistics, it’s a question of children,” she said. “It means millions of children just like these beautiful kids who are not getting their after school programs, it means they are getting in trouble, they are joining gangs.”
The senator said allowing that to happen is not “cost effective.”
“Everyone with common sense sees that this is an investment, not an expenditure,” Boxer said.
Boys & Girls Club Development Director Nancy Gregg said Boxer’s visit was important because it highlights the senator’s recognition of the club’s role in children’s lives.
“It’s safe,” Gregg said. “For many of these children, they live in less than desirable situations. We have homeless kids who come here for free.”
A highlight for Boxer of her tour was a visit to a science lesson. Students from Foothill Technology High School in Ventura were teaching younger kids about science through entertaining examples such as how to pop a magnet with a balloon.
“I loved seeing high school young men in there teaching the younger children,” Boxer said. “They really understand those children and what makes them so excited, so congratulation on using the resources that you have.”
The science lessons, which take place every Tuesday, were organized by Stewart Sinclair, himself a Boys & Girls Club member since he was 7-years-old. Sinclair will receive the club’s “Youth of the Year” award, Gregg said.
“This young man is one of our club success stories,” Gregg said, noting that the club emphasizes leadership development. “They’re putting back into the community. It’ s not just an “I’m taking” kind of situation. You’re part of community and you need to be part of it and give back.”
Ventura County Superintendent of Schools Chuck Weis also appreciated the leadership development the Boys & Girls club offers students in county schools, and the attention it pays to assisting with kids’ academic needs.
“We have great partnerships with Boys & Girls Clubs throughout Ventura County,” Weis said.
Weis said although this is a tight budget year, eliminating or reducing programs like the Boys & Girls club is not the answer. Instead, alternate revenue streams should be found, he said.
“As you can see this afternoon, this is a critical program for these kids,” Weis said. “They have a place to go, a safe place to be that will help them progress in their homework and give them a safe place to grow up. This is not the kind of thing we should be cutting in our budget. We need to invest more in our kids.”
Looking around the center before Boxer’s visit, Ventura Unified School District Superintendent Trudy Arriaga said the club’s importance is self-evident.
“I think any promotion of increased effectiveness, funding, resources for programs like Boys & Girls Clubs is such a benefit for the boys and girls,” Arriaga said.
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