Kids Matter!

A Status Report on the Well-Being of Children and Youth in Chatham County, Georgia

• Introduction
• Overview
• Executive Summary
• HEALTHY CHILDREN
  • Low Birth Weight Births
  • Very Low Birth Weight Births
  • Infant Mortality
  • Teen Births
  • Teen Pregnancy
  • Repeat Teen Pregnancy
  • Teen Violent Deaths & Sexually Transmitted Diseases
• CHILDREN READY FOR & SUCCEEDING IN SCHOOL
  • Over Age 3rd Grade
  • Over Age 5th Grade
  • Over Age 9th Grade
  • System Wide Out of School Suspensions
  • 5th Grade Out of School Suspensions
  • 7th and 9th Grade Out of School Suspensions
  • Truancy
  • Dropouts
  • Graduation Rate
  • Post-Secondary and Technical/Vocational
• STRONG FAMILIES & NEIGHBORHOODS
  • Child Abuse & Neglect
  • Out of Home Placement
  • Juvenile Court
  • Department of Juvenile Justice
  • Juvenile Arrests
• SELF-SUFFICIENT FAMILIES
  • Poverty/Free or Reduced Cost School Lunch/Household Income/Self-Sufficiency
• Data Sources & Acknowledgements

Kids Matter! - 2008

CHILDREN READY FOR & SUCCEEDING IN SCHOOL

Indicators

• Over Age in 3^rd, 5^th, and 9^th grades
• Out of School Suspensions
• Truancy
• Dropouts
• High School Graduation Rate
• Students Entering Post-Secondary or Technical/Vocational

Summary

In 2008-2009

• In 3^rd grade, 44 (1.6%) students were over age for grade; 80 (3.0%) were over age in 5^th grade; and 451 (14%) were over age in 9^th grade.
• 5,898 public school students (15.6%) were suspended out of school system-wide.
• 5,291 public school students  (14.6%) were considered truant system-wide.
• 295 public school students completely dropped out of school in grades 7-12.

In 2007-2008

• 2,264 public high school students (64%) graduated from high school on-time.
• 42% of public school graduates pursued post-secondary education, and 13% entered technical/vocational schools.

For Additional Data and Resources Visit:

• National Association for the Education of Youth and Children
• Georgia Graduation Stories
• Julie Williams. What Makes Kids Succeed in School?

Best Practices, Innovative Approaches, and Ways to Promote Awareness

• Children in high -quality childcare centers perform better on cognitive tests than children at home or in low-quality centers, and this is especially true of children from impoverish backgrounds¹.
• An early intervention program such as Reading Recovery can help first grade students who are having difficulty learning to read and write. Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS) that address both math and reading skills by combining peer tutoring with instructional principles and practices help to increase academic preparation².
• Regular participation in high-quality afterschool programs is linked to significant gains in standardized test scores and work habits, as well as reductions in behavioral problems among disadvantaged students. Afterschool programs have a positive impact on children's self-concept and help them make healthier choices that keep them on-track toward success³. 
• Mentoring is one of the most effective, and certainly the most economical, dropout prevention strategies⁴.

Sources

1. A. Clark-Stewart and J.L. Miner. 2008. Effects of Child and Day Care, Encyclopedia of Infant and Early Child Development. ScienceDirect
2. Promising Practices Network: Programs That Work
3. Evaluations Backgrounder: A Summary of Formal Evaluations of Afterschool Programs' Impact on Bahavior, Safety and Family Life. 2008. Afterschool Alliance 
4. Kate Schineller. 2009. Solutions to the Dropout Crisis - The Positive Effects of Mentoring. The National Dropout Prevention Center/Network