Human Service Summit: Growing Poverty
The trend most people at the Summit wanted to discuss was growing poverty — poverty in Johnson County is growing twice as fast as the national average for suburbs; people living in poverty are widely scattered geographically. To people delivering social services in Johnson County this isn’t news. But it is news to a majority of the county’s residents, including civic, business and political leaders. How does an affluent community engage in a conversation about poverty?
It seems that helping civic, business and political leaders understand the impact of poverty on our public schools may be a place to start. Johnson County prides itself on its outstanding school system, and rightfully so. But as more students live in low income families, can we expect the same level of overall academic achievement? Research consistently shows that poor children are more likely to do worse on measures of school achievement than non-poor children are. Also, poor children are twice as likely as non-poor children to have repeated a grade, to have been expelled or suspended from school, or to have dropped out of high school.
One indicator of child poverty is enrollment in the National School Lunch Program. Enrollment in the program tripled for every district during this decade. Nearly 19,000 students, more than 1 in 5, were enrolled county-wide during the 2009-10 school year. About 1 in 11 were enrolled in 2000.
There are strategies that can make a difference, but first it will take civic, business and political leaders who understand the consequences of doing nothing.
I am actually quite concerned about some of the proposals for changes to the school finance formula; when I read about rising poverty levels in Johnson County, it speaks to the increasing convergence of the county with conditions in much of the rest of the state. We can no longer pretend to be a place apart, an island of prosperity, if indeed that was ever so. We’ll address these challenges best together, with a revenue foundation and a budget that recognizes that our fates, as citizens of this state, are linked. If we want children in Johnson County to overcome poverty and experience the quality of life that drew many families to this region, we need elected officials and community leaders committed to children everywhere in Kansas. I would hope that UCS will continue to play a key role in advancing that conversation, too.
Comment by melindaklewis | August 31, 2010 |
Your post reminds us to keep our eyes on the ball! Thanks!
I had just been re-reading Tom Friedman’s column of 8/27/10, “Public Education Needs Rescuing.” And, I was also listening to Steve Kraske’s guests today on the subject of “living green,” and their consensus was in regard to the overwhelming impact of national policy, as opposed to small individual acts with much more limited impact.
Pulling all these threads together: In the face of difficult times, it’s essential to determine long-term priorities – and to expend more energy on those priorities. No doubt, education is in that category. Education is a portable asset and makes all the difference in a life’s trajectory. The Harlem Children’s Zone project is proving that great education does overcome poverty.
The entire education system depends on the excellent individual teacher, and we will have to pay more – not less – to obtain high-caliber teachers. Recent recommendations about state funding formulas for Kansas schools – from the SMSD Committee for Excellence – are a start in better utilizing funding, and even more mind set shifts and policy change will have to follow.
Practicality does not mean sacrificing quality. Hopefully, it means finding a way to achieve quality.
Comment by Pat Hassan | August 31, 2010 |