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The Future is Now Making the Right Decisions for Educating South Carolina’s Youth. First Steps Executive Director Institute June 26, 2008 The Colonial Center. James T. Darby, Jr. Executive Director, Santee-Lynches Regional COG. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”
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The Future is NowMaking the Right Decisions for Educating South Carolina’s Youth First Steps Executive Director Institute June 26, 2008 The Colonial Center James T. Darby, Jr. Executive Director, Santee-Lynches Regional COG
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” A Tale of Two Cities Charles Dickens 1859 “Sweet are the uses of adversity.” As You Like It William Shakespeare 1599-1600
The United States faces economic, demographic, and fiscal realities that threaten our economic growth and competitiveness. The forces of globalization and technology continue to redefine the knowledge economy; tomorrow’s workers must rely more on brain than on brawn. Without a well-educated workforce, it will be difficult to maintain the increases in productivity that raise American standards of living. Source: The Economic Promise of Investing in High Quality Preschool: Sponsored by a grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts, Committee for Economic Development, 2006 U.S. Economic, Demographic, and Fiscal Challenges Ahead
Demographic Changes will also make it Difficult to Attract and Retain the Skilled Workers we Need Past increases in economic output were propelled in part by rapid growth in the size of the U.S. labor force. In the coming years, U.S. and local labor force growth will slow sharply as the Baby Boomer generation retires. Source: The Economic Promise of Investing in High Quality Preschool: Sponsored by a grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts, Committee for Economic Development, 2006
Projected Under 18, 65 & Over Population for 2030 Source: U.S. Census Bureau Projections, 2005
South Carolina Age Group Trends 2000 to 2030 Note: These numbers used in this graphic are rounded to the nearest 1,000.
Improving labor force quality will also be difficult since high school and college graduation rates are lower than previous decades.
Overall 8th grade-to-graduation rate estimates by county and state
Central Carolina Technical College enrollment 542 (16.5%) are 18-19 year-olds * Credit students are enrolled in a formal program of study to earn a certificate, diploma or degree.
Morris College enrollment USC Sumter enrollment * Increase in 2007 from 2006 due to new athletics program.
CHALLENGES and OPPORTUNITIESfor PEOPLE OF COLOR Most new workers will need to come from minority populations that have historically completed fewer years of school. Source: The Economic Promise of Investing in High Quality Preschool: Sponsored by a grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts, Committee for Economic Development, 2006
Clarendon, Kershaw, Lee and Sumter CountiesThe Santee-Lynches Region’s Population is Aging Source: US Census Bureau – 1950-2000 Census There is a racial dimension to the potential lack of sufficient young workers to replace the aging workforce. While the Black population accounts for 44.2% of the region’s total population, they account for 50.3% of the region’s youth 17-and-under. When combined with other traditional minorities, this percentage increases to 53.7% of the youth population.
Aging Population (continued) The Black portion of the region’s population is significantly younger than the White population. Therefore, Black youth will make up a larger share of the future labor force available to fill jobs vacated by retirees. This will require a much greater commitment on the part of the minority youth, local educators and business leaders to insure these young people are fully prepared to meet this situation.
“Two nations, between whom there is no intercourse and no sympathy; who are as ignorant of each other’s habits, thoughts, and feelings as if they were dwellers in different zones, or inhabitants of different planets; who are formed by a different breeding, are fed by a different food, are ordered by different manners, and are not governed by the same laws … the rich and the poor.” 1845 , Benjamin Disraeli British Prime Minister and author Source: The Impact of Poverty: The Poor Among Us; Leslie Cantu, Senior Staff Writer The Item, October 8, 2006
“We’re going to have to look beyond ourselves, beyond our individual schools and school districts, and work to put a better funding system in place. We may be uncomfortable in the short term, but in the long run it will be the only thing that saves our state from ruin.” Jim Rex State Superintendent of Education June 18, 2008
Poverty rates by ethnic group -- 2000 Source: US Census 2000
“Between birth and age six, children develop the essential language and cognitive skills required to learn reading and arithmetic. They also develop their ability to manage emotions and stress, and to cooperate with others. Lack of school readiness puts children at risk of academic, social and behavioral difficulties in school, leaving before high school graduation, becoming involved in criminal behavior, becoming pregnant as a teenager, and becoming addicted to tobacco, alcohol and other drugs.”* * Development Health and the Wealth of Nations: Social, Biological and Educational Dynamics (1999), Keating, Hertzman The Case for an Early Childhood Development Strategy, Autumn 2000
Jim Rex’s State of Education speechJune 18, 2008 Percentages of children in poverty and children in single-parent families impede educational attainment in our state. (S.C. ranks 36th in both categories.)
Percent of students meeting standards on 2007 PACT Red totals indicate less than 60 percent of students scored Basic or better. Orange totals indicate percentage of students scoring Basic or better was over 60 percent but still more than 10 percent below state average.
Single-parent families The continuing rise in out-of-wedlock births and the divorce rate have resulted in a phenomenal increase in single-parent families throughout the state. Our three counties have a very high percentage of children in single-parent families, with 40% of all children in Lee and Clarendon living in single-parent families. U.S. Census 1970-2000 The percentage of children in single-parent families has more than doubled in each county and the state since 1970.
Single-parent families and poverty Single-parent families are a major component of poverty at the state and local levels. A majority of these families are headed by single females and many are likely to be poor. Race plays another key role in the overall numbers with minorities having significantly higher levels of single-parent families and the associated poorer living conditions. Source: U.S. Census 2000
Generational Poverty and Situational Poverty are Different “Generational poverty is defined as being in poverty for two generations or longer. Situational poverty exists for a shorter time and is caused by circumstances like death, illness, or divorce.” Source: No Child Left Behind: How do you Develop Intellectual Capital in Children from Poverty Payne, Ruby K.; Founder of aha! Process, Inc. News, Highland, Texas
Threshold Counties (4) Average 22.3% Persistent Poverty (12) Average 12.7% Other (34)
“The environment of generational poverty (two generations or more) requires that an individual become reactive, sensory-based (physical) and dependent on non-verbals as a primary information source because those three things help one survive the environment.” Source: No Child Left Behind: How do you Develop Intellectual Capital in Children from Poverty Payne, Ruby K.; Founder of aha! Process, Inc. News, Highland, Texas
“To survive in the school and work environment, one needs to be proactive, verbal and abstract.” Source: No Child Left Behind: How do you Develop Intellectual Capital in Children from Poverty Payne, Ruby K.; Founder of aha! Process, Inc. News, Highland, Texas
“Being proactive (ability to plan), verbal (use of specific language) and abstract (ability to represent the sensory) are all learned. They can be taught. Many students who are assigned to special education are from poverty and cannot do these three things. Rather than teach these things, educators tend to assign the student to a different placement.” Source: No Child Left Behind: How do you Develop Intellectual Capital in Children from Poverty Payne, Ruby K.; Founder of aha! Process, Inc. News, Highland, Texas
“Please understand that students from poverty are much more capable than students from middle class in surviving a reaction, non-verbal, sensory-based (physical) environment. This is not about intelligence. It is about what the environment requires.” Source: No Child Left Behind: How do you Develop Intellectual Capital in Children from Poverty Payne, Ruby K.; Founder of aha! Process, Inc. News, Highland, Texas
According to author Ruby K. Payne, ‘being poor brings out a survival mentality, and turns attention away from opportunities taken for granted by the middle class and wealthy.’ Source: A Framework for Understanding Poverty; Payne, Ruby K. Aha! Process, Inc. News, Highland, Texas
“Planning is key to the tasks that get finished and to the control of impulsivity. Even more importantly, brain research indicates that the primary filter for what gets noticed by the mind is closely correlated with the goals of the person. So when there is no planning, there are no goals. Emotional need or association, then, determines activities.” Source: No Child Left Behind: How do you Develop Intellectual Capital in Children from Poverty Payne, Ruby K.; Founder of aha! Process, Inc. News, Highland, Texas
“Problems cannot be solved … with the same thinking that created them.” Albert Einstein
There are pragmatic reasons to extend a hand to low-income Americans as well, said Sue Berkowitz, director of South Carolina Appleseed Justice Center. “As we help others in our community, it helps our community as a whole,” she said. If we invest in education, we’ll have a more educated workforce, which helps the business community, she said. Helping people with childcare allows them to work and be productive; ensuring that working people can earn enough to support a family can ease off on stressors that can sometimes lead to domestic violence, child abuse, or crime she said. In the long run, investing money upfront in helping people be self-supporting will save money on state programs and departments on the back end. “You will see an effect on all of us,” she said. Source: The Impact of Poverty: The Poor Among Us; Leslie Cantu, Senior Staff Writer The Item, October 8, 2006
In 15 years since the school-funding lawsuit began much as changed in S.C. … • Public school enrollment: In 1993, it was 630,100 students; today, 685,600. • First-year teacher’s average salary: In 1993, it was $19,241; today, it’s $31,314 (62% increase). • Average salary, all teachers: In 1993, $29,299; today, $45,526 (55.7% increase) • Public school spending: In 1993, $1.8 billion; anticipated in coming year, $3.7 billion (105% increase) Source: The State newspaper, June 23, 2008
Benefits from Public Investment strategy to generate positive returns (1) Wrong Policy & Investment/Cost Increase Trend Cost $0.00 Impact Cost Reduction Strategic Public Policy & Investment (2) Breakeven – Maintain Policy Savings (3) Best Practice – Net Gain Negative Public Costs Examples: Reinvestment Options: • Incarceration • Loss of potential income • Health care • Sustainability • New Programs and Services • General Cost Reduction Time
S.C. INMATE PROFILE 23,434 inmates – June 30, 2007 • 59% don’t have high school diploma/GED • 48% are drug abusers • For 20% of inmates, drugs are the “most serious offense.” (The offense with the highest severity level.) • 62.3% are African American men • 23% are 25 years old or younger Source: S.C. Department of Corrections
WEIGHING THE COSTSINCARCERATION - VERSUS - EDUCATION 1 Student Educated In State $22.35/day $8,159/year 1 Adult Inmate 1 Juvenile 1 Student Incarcerated Incarcerated Educated In State In State In State $41.52/day $135/day $22.35/day $15,156/year $49,275/year $8,159/year THE DIFFERENCES Juvenile/StudentAdult Inmate/Student Cost per day more than Cost per day nearly double six times expensive (1.86 times as expensive) Sources: Fiscal 2006 statistics from S.C. Department of Corrections, S.C. Department of Juvenile Justice, and S.C. Department of Education
State incarceration rates Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics 2007 report, U.S. Department of Justice
Some College and Per Capita Income, 2000, for adults 25-and-older Beaufort Charleston Richland Lee Clar- endon Marlboro
EDUCATION ATTAINMENT & EARNINGS POTENTIAL • $16,121/yr No High School Diploma $644,840 (40 yrs) • $24,572/yr High School Diploma $982,880 • $32,152/yr Associate Degree $1,286,080 • $45,678/yr Bachelor Degree $1,827,120 • $55,641/yr Master Degree $2,225,640 • $86,833/yr Doctorate Degree $3,473,320 U.S. Census 2000
Recent graduation rates study findings Sumter County dropouts or non-diploma recipients by cohort class During recent academic years (2003-04 through 2006-07), the three public high schools in Sumter County with a 64.7%graduation rate have combined to lose an average of 505 students annually who failed to graduate with a state diploma. 505 students x $16,121 wages = $8.1M total wages per year 505 students x $24,572 wages = $12.4M total wages per year A difference of $4.3M per year and $171M over 40 years.