It’s time again for 2012 YorIT Social Venture Challenge. Never heard of YorIT? Spread the word! YorIT, an initiative of the York County Community Foundation, is a group of community members who wish to challenge the residents of York County to get out there an make a difference through social action and philanthropy. YorIT challenges community members to think creatively and come up with unique ideas and solutions that will encourage residents of York County to BE the difference they wish to see in their community.
This year’s Social Venture Challenge calls on community members to come up with a creative media presentation about a program, initiative or service that they offer that will ‘create innovative solutions that contribute to social good that will be self-sustaining; thereby shaping a vital York County’. The winner of the Social Venture Challenge will receive up to $20k in funding for their initiative. Please watch YCTPI’s entry for the 2012 Social Venture Challenge on Youtube by clicking HERE. If you approve of our message, please ‘Like’ us (located directly under the viewing screen) and feel free to post and share our video on Facebook and Twitter. What a difference $20k in funding could make for our initiave!
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Thursday, February 2, 2012
The True Cost of a High School Dropout
Did you know only 21 states require students to attend high school until they graduate or turn 18? In his latest State of the Union address President Obama said that making school attendance compulsory in ALL states is a step in the right direction, but may not be enough keep kids in school and off the streets. According to Henry M. Levin and Cecilia E. Rouse, authors of this week's Op-Ed piece in the New York Times, the key to keeping students in school is to engage them at a very early age.
Levin and Rouse argue there is rigorous evidence that proves we need shift our focus from older children and start with the youngest students when they enter preschool. Studies show that 3 and 4-year-olds who are part of a meaningful small group setting, one where children are being taught and fed together by the same caregivers/teachers each day, have a much greater chance of graduating high school down the road. Part of this model includes regular home visits by teachers, group meetings with parents, smaller class sizes in early grades and increasing salaries for K-12 teachers.
While some might argue that these types of early childhood programs are far too expensive to implement, Levin and Rouse claim that the cost of NOT implementing these programs will far exceed them. Studies show that high school graduates will seek higher employment and earn 50-100% income in their lifetimes than their drop-out counter parts. High school graduates are also less likely to draw on public money for health care and welfare, and they are more likely to contribute to tax revenues in general rather than being a tax burden. The authors have calculated a return of $1.45-$3.55 for every dollar that is invested in implementing meaningful early childhood education programs. That's over a $127,000 net benefit to taxpayers over the lifetime of a graduate. The overall benefit to taxpayers is said to be nearly $90 Billion dollars per year and over $1 Trillion dollars over 11 years.
Levin and Rouse call on Liberals and Conservatives to leave behind the ethical debates on how to best educate young people and instead rally together to create meaningful early intervention programs that will raise long term economic growth to the tax payer as much as 3 times the cost of the programs themselves.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/26/opinion/the-true-cost-of-high-school-dropouts.html
Levin and Rouse argue there is rigorous evidence that proves we need shift our focus from older children and start with the youngest students when they enter preschool. Studies show that 3 and 4-year-olds who are part of a meaningful small group setting, one where children are being taught and fed together by the same caregivers/teachers each day, have a much greater chance of graduating high school down the road. Part of this model includes regular home visits by teachers, group meetings with parents, smaller class sizes in early grades and increasing salaries for K-12 teachers.
While some might argue that these types of early childhood programs are far too expensive to implement, Levin and Rouse claim that the cost of NOT implementing these programs will far exceed them. Studies show that high school graduates will seek higher employment and earn 50-100% income in their lifetimes than their drop-out counter parts. High school graduates are also less likely to draw on public money for health care and welfare, and they are more likely to contribute to tax revenues in general rather than being a tax burden. The authors have calculated a return of $1.45-$3.55 for every dollar that is invested in implementing meaningful early childhood education programs. That's over a $127,000 net benefit to taxpayers over the lifetime of a graduate. The overall benefit to taxpayers is said to be nearly $90 Billion dollars per year and over $1 Trillion dollars over 11 years.
Levin and Rouse call on Liberals and Conservatives to leave behind the ethical debates on how to best educate young people and instead rally together to create meaningful early intervention programs that will raise long term economic growth to the tax payer as much as 3 times the cost of the programs themselves.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/26/opinion/the-true-cost-of-high-school-dropouts.html
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