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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Jake Wheatley |
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Wheatley: New study bolsters Pa. findings on need for after-school programs
PITTSBURGH, Oct. 22 – State Rep. Jake Wheatley, D-Allegheny, said a new national study on after-school programs bolsters the findings of a state report he commissioned on the need and availability of the programs in Pennsylvania.
The "America After 3 P.M." study from the Afterschool Alliance found that Pennsylvania's rate of participation in after-school programs held steady over the last five years at 9 percent, trailing the national average of 15 percent, and that a significant percentage of the state’s children are still unsupervised each afternoon after the school day ends.
The study found that 26 percent of the state’s schoolchildren are on their own in the afternoons, and another 15 percent are in the care of their brothers or sisters. In addition, the parents of 32 percent of children not already in afterschool say they would enroll their kids in a program if one were available, the study said.
Wheatley said, "This study is another important indicator reminding our Commonwealth and all its leadership we must do more to expand, support and grow the access to quality and affordable afterschool programs across Pennsylvania. Our investment in education should not start and stop at the school building but must go beyond and into those out of school activities as this report highlights once again. Even though our state budget will probably be tight again next year, education must continue to be a priority."
Wheatley won House approval last year for commissioning a report from the nonpartisan Legislative Budget and Finance Committee on the need for and availability of after-school programs in Pennsylvania. The full report, issued last month, is available online at http://lbfc.legis.state.pa.us.
Wheatley also won House approval of a resolution (H1.R. 479) designating today as "Lights on Afterschool! Day" in Pennsylvania. Hundreds of "Lights on Afterschool!" events are being held across the country that day. At 4 p.m. today at the Hill House Association's Blakey Center, 1835 Centre Ave., Pittsburgh, Wheatley is scheduled to participate in an event highlighting the different activities and collaborations that are a part of the association's after-school programs.
Wheatley also invited residents of the 19th Legislative District to contact his office at 412-471-7760 or to e-mail him through his Web site – www.pahouse.com/Wheatley -- to let him know what they think about the affordability and availability of after-school programs in and around the city of Pittsburgh.
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