In September 2005, the Aspire Educational Collaborative wrote a White Paper envisioning a P-16 partnership for Clark County. This partnership, consisting of representatives of Clark County educational institutions from pre-kindergarten (P) to post-secondary school (16), representatives from Clark County business, foundations, social service agencies, and public agencies, began a planning process that would focus on the connection between effective education and community well-being. Various communities across the country had started P-16 processes; it was time for Clark County to do so. Members of the original Planning Committee.
Community well-being is not an abstraction. By definition, it affects us all whether we reside or work within the city limits of Springfield or reside in the county and region. It is too easy to believe that we can wall ourselves off from the troubles that take place more often in urban rather than rural environments. Consider for example the simple issue of loss of earning power and its effect on every household in Clark County. Ohio ranks 39th in the nation in the percentage of its adult population holding a four-year degree. This places Ohio along side Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas. Yet Clark County falls even behind Ohio in terms of averages. Only 15% of Clark County residents over 25 hold a Bachelor degree.
These demographics entail real human costs. The average annual income for families headed by individuals with a high school diploma is $48,000.00 as compared to the average of $85,000.00 for families with a Bachelor degree. These figures extended to the earning power for all affected county residents indicate a great loss in economic capital, including revenue for the purchase of local goods and services. Moreover, it means also a loss of the economic stability that affects other measures of community wellbeing. Crime and vandalism decrease in communities where residents are gainfully employed, own homes and are more prepared to succeed in the “innovation economy.” Schools are better funded and cultural/recreational opportunities are more likely to be supported. All of these factors contribute to the quality of life necessary if we are to attract other entrepreneurial efforts and to provide the trained workforce necessary to sustain the growth of businesses already present.
The correlation between effective schools and community wellbeing is so well known in this respect as to actually present a real barrier to progress. Seen from the business side, schools are blamed for unsound administrative and financial practices, for failing to provide an adequately trained workforce and for being a barrier to economic expansion. Seen from the school side, educators complain about the lack of job/wage support that helps families under stress, about the lack of community support that provides for a nourishing social and cultural environment, and about the lack of parental engagement that gives the proper social and moral foundation necessary for learning. The divisiveness that can exist between communities and their schools is both understandable and false. Communities where children flourish are communities where the partnerships between all the social, economic, and cultural elements work in concert. These partnerships develop assets that make our community attractive places to work and raise families. They help reverse the migration of talented youth, and they help individuals bridge the cultural and social frameworks of intergenerational poverty.
