Summit meets to discuss states’ educational challenges (News Channel 14)
Charlotte-Leaders representing agencies from North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia gathered Friday to discuss how to level the educational playing field. The summit, sponsored by the James Hunt Institute, included crime fighting groups, after school care givers and health care groups.
The groups all aim to improve the lives of low income children by giving them an equal opportunity for success.
“There are tremendous problems that a lot of these kids face that you just don’t realize when you see their cute faces in the classroom,” David Lavoie, of the Greater Enrichment Program, said.
Leaders say the problems they’re looking to combat just get worse in the classroom. According to the Alliance for Excellent Education, North Carolina’s graduation rate is 63 percent. That’s below the national average, and approximately 46,700 students dropped out of high school last year.
The summit met with aims to recognize and possibly reallocate the resources available to meet the academic, mental and physical needs of students after school.
“Ideally, there would be a team of people who would not only identify the kids who are at risk, but the kinds of supports that those kids need, kind of a one-stop shopping,” Judith Rizzo, of the Hunt Institute, said.
Data shows that high school dropouts are more likely to commit crimes and less likely to have access to adequate health insurance, both of which cost tax payers millions of dollars a year.
“The idea is, don’t wait until these kids end up in that system,” Rizzo said. “What can we do to prevent that trajectory?”
The north Carolina group agreed to host a series of regional meetings. They hope to lobby support from influential state groups such as the Metropolitan Mayors Coalition and the NAACP.
