‘Cradle to Career’ Outlook Subpar: Report Concludes Carolinas’ Youth Have Below-Average Odds of Success, Calls for More Attention to Families
By Ann Doss Helms, The Charlotte Observer, N.C.
Jan. 4–Young people in the Carolinas face below-average odds of success in schools and the work force, according to a report released Wednesday by the national journal Education Week.
The report, “From Cradle to Career,” goes beyond the academic data the journal traditionally used to compare states. It adds information on family income, parent education, preschool enrollment, college participation and adult success in finding steady work.
The point: States that want to improve public schools must look at families and communities, as well as graduates’ success in higher education and work, according to the report produced by two nonprofits, Editorial Projects in Education and the Pew Center on the States.
That approach rings true to many in Charlotte, where agencies, youth advocates and community leaders have long worked to link efforts on everything from infant health and preschool to K-12 and higher education.
“So much of what happens before our kids start school and after they graduate connects back to what happens in school,” said Margaret Carnes of the nonprofit Charlotte Advocates for Education.
Much of the Carolinas’ disadvantage traces to family income and education, according to the report.
Young adults in both states are less likely than national peers to graduate from high school or attend college.
The one advantage Education Week found in both states — a higher percentage of children whose parents speak fluent English — is changing as the immigrant population rises, Carnes said.
But the cycle of disadvantage can be broken, say Carnes and Jim Woodward, a retired UNC Charlotte chancellor tapped to lead a new group supporting Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.
“You can still have successful education within various environments,” Woodward said.
Low-income parents who didn’t go to college have high aspirations for their children, but don’t always know how to support them, Carnes said.
“It’s not negligence from their parents,” she said. “It’s a lack of knowledge and understanding of how to take that trip.”
Carnes’ group trains parents to be more effective advocates for their kids. CMS Superintendent Peter Gorman has proposed creating a Parent University to help families support academic success.
Charlotte’s leaders have long worked to link public schools, early childhood programs, health care, welfare, police, employers, colleges and universities.
But even pooling data to study what works is “extraordinarily difficult,” says Woodward, who worked with the UNC Institute for Social Capital to develop such a study.
“The data is not consistently collected anywhere in the United States,” he said.
Education Week acknowledges the challenge, saying the new ratings are a work in progress.
Virginia rated first on the journal’s “chance for success index,” which includes graduation rates and proficiency on national math and reading exams.
Virginia significantly outperforms the Carolinas on graduation rates, notes Alan Richard of the Atlanta-based nonprofit Southern Regional Education Board.
“Northern Virginia is one of the most prosperous regions in the country,” he added, noting that the suburbs of Washington are full of college-educated people working in government and technology.
North Carolina tied for 35th with Idaho and Oregon. South Carolina tied for 41st with Kentucky.
The ratings do not break out data on large cities.
Details
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Read more at www.edweek.org
Carolinas: Cradle to Career
Here’s how Education Week rates North and South Carolina, compared with national averages.
ABOVE AVERAGE
–Kids whose parents speak fluent English (both)–Middle-school math proficiency (N.C.)
–Adults with steady full-time employment (S.C.)
AVERAGE
–Preschool enrollment (both)
–Kindergarten enrollment (both)
–Elementary-school reading proficiency (N.C.)
–Middle-school math proficiency (S.C.)
–Parents with college degrees (N.C.)
–Adults with steady full-time employment (N.C.)
BELOW AVERAGE
–Children in homes with adequate income (both)
–Parents with full-time employment (both)
–High-school graduation rate (both)
–Young adults enrolled in college (both)
–Adults with college degrees (both)
–Adults with income at or above national median (both)
–Elementary-school reading proficiency (S.C.)
–Parents with college degrees (S.C.)
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Copyright (c) 2007, The Charlotte Observer, N.C.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
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