Congressman Bishop Secures $1.5 Million to Help Address Learning Loss During COVID-19 Crisis

July 22, 2021 Print This Post

Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) secured $1.5 million for Georgia Family Connection Partnership in the Fiscal Year 2022 Labor, Health and Human Resources, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act which was approved by the House Appropriations last week and will now be considered by the full U.S. House of Representatives. The funds will be used to implement the four-pillar framework of Get Georgia Reading—Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, along with other supports to help address challenges children and families are up against due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Because schools were closed and many students had limited internet access, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in lost learning opportunities. These funds will be used in Middle and Southwest Georgia to help Georgia Family Connection bridge this gap so that our school children get to the reading level they need to be successful in life,” said Bishop.

“Reading proficiently by the end of third grade is a powerful predictor of a child’s success in school and in life,” said Georgia Family Connection Partnership Executive Director Gaye Smith. “Children who don’t meet this marker are more likely to have poor health and discipline problems, become teen parents, drop out of school, and become incarcerated. This critical funding will allow us to support children and their families in meeting this milestone, making it more likely that these children will attain a higher quality of life, which will in turn benefit our communities.”