We need to expect students to show at least a year's progress from year to year. Some schools with predominantly poor students are doing this, including South Avondale, where Nathan Biggers, left, and Anthony Hill attended fifth grade in 2011.
One bit of news from Ohio's new school report cards is discouraging, if not surprising: Schools with lots of poor students score lower than schools with wealthier students.
It's not a simple problem, and there's no simple solution. But we all have an interest in helping to solve it, because those kids who aren't learning today will affect the rest of us for years. They're less likely to graduate from high school, less likely to find a good job, more likely to commit crimes and more likely to have children before they're prepared.
Research shows there's a lot we can do. Here are some ideas:
? Provide quality preschool for all. Many low-income kids who start school at 5 or 6 are already far behind their peers and stand little chance of catching up. Good preschools can help level the playing field, and they're worth the investment. In Denver, voters in 2006 approved a sales tax of 12 cents per $100 to pay for preschool tuition assistance. A recent study of the low-income kids there who started preschool in 2008 showed them ahead of their low-income peers who didn't attend preschool. Another assessment showed that 90 percent of the kids using the Denver program were academically ready to start kindergarten. The Cincinnati Preschool Promise program is working to make quality preschools available to every child in the region.
? Make home visits available to at-risk new parents. Starting preschool at 3 misses the crucial, earliest years of a child's life, when adults should be reading and talking to the child as much as possible. Many readers point out that it's the parent's responsibility to prepare a child for school, and we agree. Most low-income parents want the same thing everyone else does: the best possible chance in life for their children. Many of them can use ideas and help, so home-visit programs like Every Child Succeeds are also an important strategy in closing the achievement gap.
? Prevent teen pregnancy. The kids most at risk have young, uneducated and unmarried parents. The rate of teen pregnancy has been dropping locally and nationwide. This trend will help in the long run as kids showing up in school have one less strike against them. We need to understand why teen pregnancy rates have been dropping and encourage the trend to continue.
? Track progress as closely as performance. The absolute academic achievement in a school is obviously important, but so is the progress made by students. Even if students start behind, we need to expect them to show at least a year's progress from year to year. There are schools with predominantly poor students that are doing this, places like Evanston Academy, South Avondale School and Roberts Academy in East Price Hill. It's telling that those schools are all in neighborhoods that are receiving targeted assistance to boost employment rates and improve housing. Children benefit when their parents have jobs and their housing is secure.
? Create a pipeline of future principals. Research from a range of political perspectives suggests that leadership in the form of a principal is crucial to creating a school culture where poor kids can learn. Yet in many districts the process for choosing a principal can be haphazard. Districts should groom administrators and create succession plans so every school benefits from a leader who can encourage both teachers and students to do their best.
Poor kids can learn. But they need the people supporting them - parents, teachers, principals and the community - doing what they can to help. In the end, those students will benefit from home visits, preschool and other efforts. The rest of us will, too. ■