Schools
After-School Advocate Honored in Nation's Capital
Loni Hancock co-founded organization, which helps low-income children and youth succeed in school.
The executive director of the Partnership for Children and Youth, co-founded by former mayor and state Sen. Loni Hancock, has been honored as one of nine “Afterschool Champions” for work advancing after-school programs.
Honoree Jennifer Peck has worked with the Berkeley Unified School District, notably to forge after-school programs at the high school level.
Peck also worked on California’s SB 429 which strengthens and adds flexibility to existing resources for summer learning programs, and helped craft the state’s new after school division to improve support for state and federally-funded programs.
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Peck flew to Washington, D.C. to accept the award at the “Breakfast of Champions” May 9.
“This year’s champions are working in areas such as research, policy development and advocacy in settings as diverse as universities, foundations, state government and community-based organizations to ensure that kids have somewhere safe, supervised, educational and inspiring to go after school,” said Jodi Grant, executive director of the Afterschool Alliance, which sponsors the award.
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“There’s an enormous body of research proving that afterschool programs are successful in keeping kids engaged in school, helping them learn and even encouraging them to explore possible careers,” she said.
Hancock still serves on the board of the Partnership board, whose mission is to provide educational support to children and youth in low-income communities.
