Every Kid in a Park is a program run by the

United States National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

in which

fourth grade Fourth grade (also called grade four, equivalent to Year 5 in England and Wales, and Year 4 in Australia) is a year of Elementary education in some countries. In North America, the fourth grade is the fifth school year of elementary school. Stud ...

rs in the country receive free admission to National Parks. The program was created by

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

in 2015 and has been renewed annually every year since.

Overview

On February 19, 2015, President Obama announced the initiative. The initiative was launched in the fall of 2015 to coincide with the one hundredth anniversary of the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

. The National Park Service gives all United States students in the fourth grade and their families an annual pass for free admission. Areas of admission include national parks, forests, monuments, and wildlife refuges. Around the time of the announcement of the initiative, annual passes to national parks generally cost $80. Cost coverage for the free passes will come from the National Park Service's $20-million budget for youth engagement programs. The

National Park Foundation The National Park Foundation (NPF) is the official charity of the National Park Service (NPS) and its national park sites. The NPF was chartered by Congress in 1967 with a charge to "further the conservation of natural, scenic, historic, scientif ...

and National Park Service will provide transportation grants and educational materials to schools, with a focus on schools that have greater need. Such transportation grants are part of the National Park Foundation's "Ticket to Ride" program. Resources will also be provided to facilitate the location of nearby parks and supporting youth programs. Criticism of the initiative includes concern over a possible increase in National Parks' reliance on

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

. Another concern of the initiative is of its cost, but one source from ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' projects that only $2.3 million in revenue will be lost. Fourth-graders were specifically chosen for "logistical, educational and instructional reasons", according to a White House official. The National Park Service as well as other public agencies already have fourth grade programs in place. Furthermore, many states within the United States teach state history during fourth grade, so National Park programs are relevant to the grade. Other reasons include ease in coordination of trips by a student's one teacher (rather than multiple teachers, as present in higher grades) and the idea of youth building early connections with nature. The Every Kid in a Park website everykidinapark.gov was designed and developed by

18F 18F is a digital services agency within the General Services Administration, Technology Transformation Services department of the General Services Administration (GSA) of the United States Government. Their purpose is to deliver digital services ...

. The Every Kid in a Park website everykidinapark.org was designed and developed by

Sub Rosa ''Sub rosa'' (New Latin for "under the rose") denotes secrecy or confidentiality. The rose has an ancient history as a symbol of secrecy. History In Hellenistic and later Roman mythology, roses were associated with secrecy because Cupid ga ...

. The

John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act The John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act of 2019 is an omnibus lands act that protected public lands and modified management provisions. The bill designated more than of wilderness area, expanded several national par ...

, signed in March 2019, included the Every Kid Outdoors Act, which authorized the program for 7 years.

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

*{{Official website, https://everykidinapark.gov/
The National Park Foundation Official Website: Centennial webpage
National Park Service Government services web portals in the United States

Overview

See also

References

Bibliography

External links