Poverty and Potential - Part III

As you know from past blogs, the 'Out of School Factors' do directly impact student success. It is interesting to note that the neighborhoods have a profound impact on children and their opportunities for success int he classroom.

The neighborhood can offer few quality jobs or lots of them. It affords children and families a whole variety of food options, some better than others (and we know nutrition affects school performance). Some neighborhoods are safe, others are much less secure. Some areas are more prone to have pollutants, other areas are much less toxic

What we know is that the above 'Out of School Factors,' that are most harmful, tend to exist where there is more poverty than not.

You might be interested to know just who lives in areas with the greatest levels of poverty and where negative 'OSF' are most in evidence.

In regions in the United States where there is a poverty rate is between 70% and 100% the breakdown is as follows:
4% of white students live in these areas
9% of Asian students live in these areas
40% of Latino and black students live in these areas

Our charity attempts to go into schools where the poverty rates are highest, knowing that both 'In School' and 'Out of School' Factors are working against the children. We will continue to help those most in need.

Dick