We had dueling after-school program announcements Monday, from Bob Brady and Chaka Fattah.
Here's your guide to compare and contrast:
Brief description:
Chaka Fattah: Expand after-school programs by working with the School District, as well as faith groups and community organizations, "to ensure that every child, ages 12 to 16 has access to after-school" care. The programs would be housed in schools, city facilities or perhaps community institutions (like those run by the faith groups). He'd hire teachers to work in the programs to stress academics. He'd also create several "21st century community learning centers," modeled on Project H.O.M.E.'s Honickman Learning Center, throughout the city.
Bob Brady: Would expand after-school programs to serve 15,000 more students at each of the city's 150 rec centers. (Now, only 90 offer after-school programs.) His after-school programs would be run by the city Rec Department and Philadelphia Safe and Sound, but he would broaden the partnerships supporting the after-school programs to include community groups and, notably, businesses.
Cost and funding:
Chaka Fattah: $15 million, paid for by part of the proceeds from the sale of the Philadelphia International Airport -- this is part of his Opportunity Agenda (which I've said is his big idea for the race).
Bob Brady: $15 million ($5 million to the Rec Department and $10 million to Safe and Sound) paid for by federal grants (he, too, mentions the 21st Century Learning Center grants, which are part of the federal No Child Left Behind act), as well as city funding. He also wants to get businesses to sponsor after-school programs, both to fund them and to bring more attention to the programs.
Stats supplied in support:
Chaka Fattah: (To support his 21st Century Community Learning Centers)
"Between two assessments in October 2005 and May 2006, 82% of students who participated in Honickman's program had made gains in their reading ability on the STAR Reading Growth Report and 75% also made gains in their Math ability."
Bob Brady: (In a section called, "The Facts")
"In 2005 more than 3,900 juveniles were arrested, approximately 1 in 12 of which were under the age of 13 in 2005 / Roughly 5,000 students drop out of the Philadelphia School District every year. / Philadelphia’s juvenile crime rate which has risen 9% over the last four years."
You can read Fattah's full plan here and Brady's full plan here.
Or you can just turn on your TV, since Bob Brady's new television commercial mentions his plan prominently. It also stars D.A. Lynne Abraham and touches on school safety. It's set to start airing Tuesday...