Community Collaborative
education_indicators.html
|
Education
Starting with the care and education of our youngest community
members, child care costs rose from 2001 to 2005. While the number
of licensed and accredited childcare centers and homes has
remained fairly consistent, the decreasing affordability of childcare
has implications for the strategies that households,
especially lower income ones, use to care for infant and preschool
children. Quality affordable childcare was viewed as a
major issue by survey respondents although it varied. Nearly 75% of
community leaders viewed this as a major issue. This is an
area where a major community concern is supported by data.
As mentioned previously, there is a great disparity between the
number of free and reduced cost lunches for school age children in
different parts of the county ranging from 4% to 56%.
Average student teacher ratios are fairly consistent countywide (from
16.1 to 19.7). For students completing high school fully
86% plan to attend college.
Community leaders and residents taking the written survey rated
the achievement gap between students, and students dropping out of
school as major issues without adequate resources.
Currently reliable indicator data is not being collected about these
issues over the entire district. The high school drop out
rate was a major issue to two-thirds (67%) of residents taking the
written survey, but only 41% of community residents
responding to the phone survey. Employment assistance and job training
emerged as the major issues for adult education.
|
 |
