Poverty: New Solutions Needed

The October 9, 2016, Columbus Dispatch article Poverty Link Remains Key to Test Scores for children in school did not tell us anything new.  We have known for a long time that, as stated by Howard Fleeter from the Ohio Education Policy Institute, “Districts face a greater challenge when you have a preponderance of your kids who are economically disadvantaged.” The recommendations for alleviating this issue are also nothing new.  In fact, 20% of Ohio children live in poverty, the 18th worst in the nation, and the situation for our children is not improving.

America's Forgotten Working Class

The issues J.D. Vance raises are critical for many low income children, regardless of race. He is right that we need to ask the right questions and find new answers. We can't just do the same things we have been doing to address poverty and hopelessness.

At a recent Conference on Economic Mobility at the Urban Institute in Washington, the president of the Citi Foundation said that "a lack of mobility has profound impact on a family's life... Where are our disruptive innovations in community development as we have seen with cars and phones?"

I believe that President Obama's call for changes in zoning and other laws to allow for mobility and integrated neighborhoods and schools is the start. Let's start this tough conversation.

America's Forgotten Working Class