Students Need Your Help!

Here is a list of scary statistics about the state of Education in our country. They are provided by the National Center for Education Statistics http://nces.ed.gov/programs/

EDUCATION STATISTICS

Poor academic performance has a direct and serious impact on a student's adult life. Dropouts are more likely to become and stay jobless, will enjoy dramatically lower lifetime earnings, and are far more likely to be unemployed and incarcerated.

For example-

· High school graduates live up to 7 years longer than high school dropouts.

· Census Bureau estimates suggest that in terms of today’s dollars, college graduates will earn an average of about $2.5 million, or about $1 million more over their working lives than high school graduates.

· Roughly 1 in 10 young male high school dropouts are in jail or juvenile detention. Roughly 1 in 35 young male high school graduates is in jail or juvenile detention.

The achievement gap is not some irrelevant statistic, it is proof that our public education system is consistently failing our children and drastically reducing their chances to compete and succeed as adults.

United States

• 68% of 4^th grade public school students scored below a proficient reading level in 2009.
• Communities that rank high in achievement tests have an abundance of books in public libraries, easy access to books in the community, and a large number of textbooks per student.
• Class of 2008 high school dropouts will cost the United States almost $319 billion in lost wages over their lifetimes.
• A 10% increase in high school graduation rates would reduce murder rates by 20%.
• American 15 year’s olds’ math skills rank 25^th internationally.

California

• 68% graduated from high school in 2009
• 44% enrolled in college directly after high school in 2004
• California is ranked 46^th in the country in awarding bachelor’s degrees to enrolled undergraduates
• California is ranked 33^rd on library visits per Capita (most recent) by state
• Total number of Schools: 10,198
• Total number of Students: 6,343,471, Total number of Teachers: 305,230 , Pupil/Teacher Ratio: 20.8
• Number of Central Libraries: 166, Number of Branch Libraries: 927
• Total Revenue of Schools - $71,224,023,937. Total Expenditures of Schools - $73,868,615,76, Totaling a loss of $2,644,591,831

San Diego

• San Diego Unified School District was ranked 18^th largest school district, by enrollment size, in the U.S. in 2007 and fiscal year 2009.
• Class sizes have shot up and the school year has been shortened throughout San Diego County.
• 1 in 5 people in San Diego County lack basic English literacy skills. 21% of people 16 or older are functionally illiterate.

Just because our economy is in recession doesn't mean our hearts have to be too. Get involved by donating your time or spare change, we can make a difference if we get out there and try together =)