United Way backs Education

*All information is provided by United Way Worldwide

Education is the cornerstone of individual and community success. It’s essential to getting and keeping a job with a livable wage and health benefits. And it’s fundamental to a community’s economic prosperity: a well-educated workforce attracts world-class jobs.

Today, 6,000 young people across the U.S. will drop out of school. That’s 1.2 million high school dropouts a year — and 1.2 million young adults closing the door of opportunity.Education is the key to getting a good job, one with a good income and health care. And it’s the key to our nation's productivity and global competitiveness. That’s why United Way has put a stake in the ground on education. Our goal is to cut the number of high school dropouts in half by 2018. United Way Worldwide has issued a challenge to all 1,300 United Ways across the nation and their community partners — and we want you to get involved, too.

High school dropouts are more than 12 years in the making. Children start learning at birth; the foundation for future learning is laid in the first few years. Disadvantaged children come to school at least two years behind their peers in pre-reading skills, and most never catch up. By 3rd grade, a child’s grades and absenteeism rates can predict with 90% accuracy whether he or she will complete high school. The entire education continuum, from birth through 21, must be in our collective crosshairs if we want to move the needle on high school graduation. That means making sure children are:
· Ready for school, starting with the social, emotional and cognitive skills they need to succeed;
· Reading on track by 4th grade;
· Transitioning successfully to middle school;
· Graduating high school on time;
· Working or in school by 21.

What’s the impact of high school dropouts in our community? United Way’s Common Good Forecaster™, found at www.liveunited.org/forecaster, can help you determine exactly how education affects our community’s future. For example, it can predict to what degree might higher levels of education in your county lower the poverty and unemployment rates – and boost incomes. But beyond jobs and incomes, it can show how changes in the educational level of a place affect its incarceration rate. Or the percentage of adults who are obese. Or even voter turnout in the next election.

What does it really take to improve education? Research shows that supportive communities, effective schools and strong families must be in place, supported by early, sustained investment and driven by proven strategies. United Way Worldwide has a framework to guide our education work, one that’s helping the 1,300 United Ways mobilize people around education.
But what matters most is individual involvement.
Research shows the strategies proven to work are those that connect communities to their schools: parent involvement; literacy volunteers in the classroom; mentors for disadvantaged students; business leaders engaged. These aren’t things government can do – but you can! Visit the “Give. Advocate. Volunteer." pages of www.liveunited.org to learn how you can make a difference in the schools of your community.
United Way Worldwide and the 1,300 United Ways across the nation have a 10 year goal.
· By 2018, 87 percent of high school seniors will graduate on time, up from 73.9 percent today.
· That increase translates to 560,000 more youth who will receive diplomas in 2018.
· An ill-prepared 12th grader does not one day magically appear in a cap and gown ready to pick up a diploma.
· This 10-year goal means we must engage with children and families from birth.

“Upon the education of the people the fate of this country depends.” Disraeli was speaking of his country, Great Britain, some 150 years ago, but these words capture the American belief in the critical importance of universal education. Education is the foundation for a good life, setting the individual on a path of personal fulfillment, economic security and societal contribution.

United Ways are highlighting three points in students’ lives that help predict success in school and later as adults: readiness to enter kindergarten, reading proficiency in fourth grade and on-time graduation from high school.

Readiness to succeed in school means that children enter kindergarten developmentally on track in the areas of literacy and in social, emotional and cognitive skills. One way to track pre-literacy and cognitive skills is by looking at the percentage of children ages 3 to 5 who have all or most of four commonly recognized school readiness skills (recognizing their letters, counting to 20 or higher, writing their names and reading or pretending to read). Data from the National Household Education Survey show progress, but less than 40 percent of kids enter school with the skills needed to succeed in kindergarten and beyond. Those without these skills—the majority of young children—are starting school already at a disadvantage. United Way is leading an effort that would measure more comprehensively all dimensions of school readiness at the beginning of kindergarten.Academic achievement means elementary-age students are prepared to succeed in later grades and to graduate from high school. If children are reading at grade level in fourth grade, they have a much better chance of handling more complex assignments in later grades. And if they are doing well, the chances are better, too, that they feel confident they can handle middle and high school classes. According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, reading proficiency has improved over the last 10 years, but less than one-third of the nation’s fourth graders are rated “proficient” in reading.

Academic achievement is also reflected in on time high school graduation rates. The percentage of freshmen who enter high school and graduate four years later increased by a few points since 1997 to about 74 percent. But that still means more than 1 million students each year fail to get their diploma on time, as reported by the National Center on Education Statistics.

That number is unacceptably high. Dropping out means these young people will more than likely never earn enough to make ends meet. It means their children will be similarly disadvantaged and perhaps start kindergarten unprepared, thus perpetuating the cycle.

Finally, the last piece in understanding how education contributes to achieving the potential of children and youth:

Young adults, age 18 to 24, are making a successful transition from high school to the working world. They may be in college, in a training program or working, acquiring the experience they need to succeed as adults. The measure for this is the percentage of 18- to 24- year-olds who are neither working (full or part time) nor in school. This indicator should trend downward: that is, a decrease in the indicator means an increase in the percentage of young adults productively engaged after high school. And while the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey shows a slight improvement over the past decade, too many young adults— more than one in seven—are neither working nor attending school, even part time. When they fall between the cracks, our country suffers the consequences.

For more information on how the United Way of the Greater Clarksville Region and its partner agencies are impacting education in Montgomery, Houston and Stewart counties and the Fort Campbell area or to help support your community, please visit liveunitedclarksville.org.