[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 58 (Tuesday, April 21, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S4509]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  HONORING THE LET'S GET READY PROGRAM

 Mr. KERRY. Madam President, Fenway Park, America's most 
beloved ballpark, will play host to a different collection of 
superstars on April 30: the young people from cities across 
Massachusetts including Boston, Brockton, Lawrence, Springfield and 
Worcester, whose achievements are not measured in batting average or 
RBIs or All Star Game selections; but in SAT scores, GPA and college 
acceptance letters.
  These young people measure their success by the number of lives they 
change, the number of young people they help get into college, and the 
dreams they help make real for hundreds of Massachusetts high school 
students each year.
  Tonight at Fenway Park, you will not find Josh Beckett or Dustin 
Pedroia or Kevin Youkilis. But you will find Pat Johnson and tonight, 
to the people at Fenway, he is every bit the superstar David Ortiz is.
  Patrick is the incoming Boston College Site Director for Let's Get 
Ready or LGR, an organization relying wholly on the generosity, 
compassion and selflessness of college students that guides low-income 
high school students through the dizzying and daunting college 
admissions process. He is joined at Fenway tonight by LGR's other 
volunteers and supporters and by the students and families they work so 
hard to help.
  The college students who volunteer with LGR serve as coaches. These 
college coaches provide SAT preparation and assistance with all aspects 
of the college application process to underserved students in five 
Massachusetts communities. The college application process has become a 
multimillion-dollar industry and too often low-income students find 
themselves at a disadvantage. They can not afford the private SAT 
tutors or professional personal essay advisers more affluent high 
school students take advantage of. Commercial prep courses cost 
anywhere from $1,200 to $5,000; LGR has a direct cost of only $500 per 
student.
  That $500 goes a very long way. LGR helps to level the playing field 
and ensure the remarkable opportunities that can come from a college 
education are not reserved for the well-to-do or well-connected. And 
level the playing field is exactly what the LGR coaches do. Ninety-two 
percent of LGR students go directly to college after high school, 
compared to 47 percent of low-income students nationally. LGR students 
increase their SAT scores an average of 110 points. LGR has provided 
support to over 7,500 high school students and engaged over 3,500 
college students in meaningful service learning experiences.
  I commend Pat and all the superstar LGR coaches at Fenway Park 
tonight and I thank them for their efforts to ensure no hardworking 
student with a dream of a college education is left on the 
sidelines.

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