Survey Says: Education Is Key to Strong Communities
Survey Says: Education Is Key to Strong Communities by Kate Markin Coleman
Americans handed their communities a grade earlier this year and the results were mixed. Most communities are earning a passing grade, but no one will be putting their report cards on the fridge.
The community “report card” comes from the Y Community Snapshot survey, which asked 1,500 Americans from around the country to rate their communities on 33 attributes that impact the quality of community life. The attributes fall into four categories:
Community Involvement
Healthy, Active Lifestyle;
Education, Youth and Family Life
Basic, Core Elements and Service
The average grade given to American communities was a passable but unimpressive B-, or 2.62 GPA, on the survey’s four-point grading scale. The rating is identical to the 2012 survey results, indicating that even as the country emerges from economic hardship, we still have plenty of work to do. The results are a bit more