When it’s okay to give public education advocates the side-eye
At least one group cares for youth beyond the schoolhouse
School improvement isn’t the goal. Community wellness is. Schools are just a means to an end.
How many times have you given the side-eye to the education advocate who screamed at the top of his lungs during the charter school rally but couldn’t muster up a mere tweet for Trayvon, Tamir or Michael?
He pushed the governor for school choice, but stayed silent on healthcare expansion. You know, the person who decreed “poverty doesn’t matter;” “you can’t fix poverty;” or my favorite, “maintain a laser-light focus on what goes on in a classroom.” Yeah, that person — continue to give him the side-eye.
Caring for children requires extending one’s concern beyond a classroom. New statistics in the New Orleans Youth Index 2015 back this. Released by The Data Center of New Orleans, the Youth Index is a statistical snapshot of the well-being of the city’s children and youth from birth to 24 years old. It is meant to “inform the development of strategies that can improve the academic, social, and behavioral outcomes.”
Although the report focuses on New Orleans, all cities can learn why a rigid focus on school success along test scores can lose the forest for the trees. Kids don’t live in schools; they live in communities, and their wellness should be the target of change.
For instance, the data show that you simply can’t be a strong school advocate without advocating for healthcare reform. When it comes to immunizations, New Orleans at approximately 76 percent and Louisiana at about 80 percent both fall below the state’s target of 90 percent of all children having received their shots on schedule.
Infant mortality is also an important indicator of overall community wellness. The Youth Index reported that in 2013, the New Orleans infant mortality rate was 9.3 per 1,000 live births compared to 8.7 for Louisiana. Both of those rates were higher than the national rate of 6.0 per 1,000 live births in 2013.
Poverty matters. Anyone who tells you otherwise simply is denying children opportunities for a better life. As the report states, poverty may be “the single greatest threat to children’s healthy brain development.” The stress of violence, neglect and economic hardship can “disrupt the development of brain architecture, leading to lifelong difficulties in learning, memory, and self-regulation.” When it’s okay to give public education advocates the side-eye - The Hechinger Report: