Priority: education

1 in 3 children in Central Indiana are born at an economic disadvantage

• Many will not have access to quality child care
• Many start school behind and stay behind

Children in poverty are read to an average of 25 hours before they start 1st grade, compared to middle-class children are read to an average of 1,000 hours before 1st grade

Two-thirds of Indiana 4th-graders aren’t reading at grade level, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress

• One in five Indiana 4th-graders doesn’t pass the English Language Arts portion of the ISTEP; in Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) classrooms, two in five don’t pass
• Research shows that kids who aren’t on track with reading by 6th grade are more likely to drop out

Also in IPS, just two-thirds of 5th-graders pass the math portion of the ISTEP

Among 9th-graders in public schools in Marion County, 1 in 5 will not graduate in 4 years

• For IPS 9th-graders, that’s true for 2 in 5

In the last 4 years, nearly 6,000 kids have dropped out of public schools in Central Indiana

• Changing the dropout rate can change our entire community and, as a result, reduce future human service needs

We’re seeing encouraging results for our efforts thus far. We’ve provided more than 500,000 high-quality books to children under age 6, many of whom live in economically challenged neighborhoods – assessments indicate they’re coming to school better prepared to learn. Through a public awareness campaign and outreach to parents in neighborhoods with significant need, we raised the percentage of kindergarteners attending the first day of school from 64% in 2008 to 93% in 2010.

And thanks to enhanced math instruction in another group of schools, 6th-graders showed tremendous improvement in the state math assessment, with one school more than doubling its pass rate in that grade.

Specific programs and intiatives

OUR GOAL: Children are at grade level in reading and math by 6th grade

• Reading tutors – 3rd-, 4th- and 5th-graders are paired with local volunteer tutors
• Enhanced math instruction – Specially trained math instructors provide both classroom instruction and teacher professional development
• Mentoring – Children have caring adult role models
• School health centers – Children are healthy, in class and actively engaged
• School/community partnerships – Children and families are connected with school programs and other community services