U.S. News & World Report – Andrew Rotherham
“It’s not every day you see a White House initiative play out in real time with everyone happy about it. Actually these days, do you ever? But there it was: High in Virginia’s mountains families hiked, picnicked and played under a cloudless blue sky on a crisp October Sunday. The mountain foliage was already spectacular and for some a fall visit to see it was an annual tradition. But for a surprising number of families the impetus for the trip was the White House’s Every Kid In A Park initiative…Announced in February and launched this fall, the initiative makes it free for fourth graders (and fourth-grade age homeschoolers and other alternatively schooled youngsters) and their families to visit America’s national parks….The impetus behind Every Kid In A Park is straightforward: Getting kids into parks exposes them to natural resources and history and gets them outside and moving. In addition, whether through history or the experience of the natural world, parks are a terrific extension of the classroom.”(more)