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While America's student population increases and the focus on test scores rises, federal funding for schools has slowly disappeared. As more hallways are made into classrooms and more students must work day to day among crumbling walls and leaking ceilings, community groups are calling for government officials to invest in repairing America's schools. In order to highlight the urgent need for federal involvement in school construction, NPA groups in Baltimore, MD; Chicago, IL; Hartford, CT and Buffalo, NY participated in a "week of action" throughout mid-June.

Each groups used their event during the week to focus on legislation that has already been introduced in both the House (HR 1076) and Senate (S 905). If passed, the bill would bring approximately $25 billion in funding to states for new construction and repair of existing buildings. The federal funding would also provide opportunities for schools to alleviate massive student overcrowding. Groups also used their events to highlight the need for increased school safety both on campus and surrounding school grounds.

All of the participating NPA groups pointed to Secretary of Education Rod Paige as the government official in Washington DC needed to head up the education debate around school construction and safety. Groups called on their legislators to write letters urging Secretary Paige to meet with NPA representatives. Baltimore's Citizens United to Restore Economic Selfhelp (C.U.R.E.S) kicked off NPA's "Week of Action" by holding a press event in front of City Hall to call attention to several school closures due to poor physical conditions and library closures that are plaguing many neighborhoods across the city.

In what was C.U.R.E.S. first public action, the group gathered more than 40 people. Participating youth held signs with messages proclaiming, "Keep the doors to my education open!" "Our action on June 11 has given us an opportunity to see the possibilities in Baltimore. C.U.R.E.S. leaders came together from neighborhoods across the city and showed Baltimore that we are not going to sit down and let the kids in our city fall behind in their education! It was very exciting to be part of the week of action along with other groups around the country!

We're just getting started," said C.U.R.E.S leader Cleo Stewart. Buffalo's Eastside P.R.I.D.E. held a press conference at which time they released a letter from Congressman Jack Quinn (R-NY) sent to Paige urging the Secretary of Education to meet with NPA. With regards to the school safety issue, Buffalo has focused its efforts on ensuring that students who walk to school are safe from gang and drug activity taking place in many of the abandoned buildings surrounding school campuses in Buffalo. Chicago's Brighton Park Neighborhood Council (BPNC) and Blocks Together (BT) held a joint event in the Brighton Park neighborhood.

The event kicked off across the street from Kelly High School, a Chicago public school that has been plagued by overcrowding in recent years. The Chicago event was attended by Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-NY) who has been consistently supportive of federal school construction legislation over the past couple years. Gutierrez also announced his sponsorship of new legislation which would offer college scholarship money for high school students who do community service. Other Congressional staffers from the offices of Sen.

Dick Durbin and Sen. Peter Fitzgerald who attended the event agreed to help BPNC and BT get a meeting with Secretary Paige. In Connecticut, Hartford Areas Rally Together (HART) held a press conference in front of Hartford's City Hall. The leaders in attendance were both youth and adults who have been working tirelessly to address overcrowding in Hartford's schools. HART received a letter of support from Senator Joe Lieberman (D-CT) for their efforts to address the need for federal school construction money. Hartford's Rep. Nancy Johnson (R-CT), an original co-author of HR 1076, agreed to help HART and NPA get a meeting with Secretary Paige and has contacted Paige's office.

"We aren't going away Secretary Paige," said Hyacinth Yennie, a HART leader. "Our kids need places to learn, and we want to talk with you about that. Our Congressmen are doing their part, but what about you?"