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Keely Thompson wanted to give kids in the District a chance to stay off the streets. A former world lightweight boxing champion, Thompson wanted to bring his love of the sport to area kids by opening up a boxing gym. He fulfilled that mission with the grand opening on Aug. 7 of Keely’s District Boxing and Youth Center in Northeast, his second facility.
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“Five years ago, no one wanted to touch the program because they felt boxing was too violent. But [D.C. officials] saw the work we did at my first youth center in Northwest. They saw that we not only taught boxing, but we provided tutoring and counseling to these young kids and we even turned around the focus of MS-13 youth. Some of them have gone on to be productive kids,” Thompson said.
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Pre-K for All Comes to the District
Norma Porter - WI Contributing Writer
Thursday, 21 August, 2008
All children ages three and four in the District will soon have access to high quality pre-kindergarten (Pre-K) programs, thanks to the Pre-K Enhancement and Expansion Act of 2008, which was passed by the D.C. City Council in July. City officials are working to ensure that all District children have access to these programs by 2014.
“Over a six-year period, from now until 2014, we’re focusing on planning, getting the dollars in the classrooms, getting scholarships to teachers, and educating parents on what to expect when they go into a high quality classroom,” said Jesse Bailey, campaign manager for Pre-K for All D.C.
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