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What do Sioux City Community Schools do to Help Poverty?
By Della Bobian
The 2011 U.S. Census Bureau states that a family of 4 that earns less than $23,021 is considered to be living under the poverty line. More than 45 million people in America lived below the poverty rate last year, and nearly 30 million of those were families with 2 or more children. After doing some research on dosomething.org, it was shocking to find the truth about the direct effect it has on students. Children living in poverty have a higher number of absences, and sometimes leave school overall because they are more likely to have work or care for family members. The dropout rates of those that are 16 to 24 years of age, and come from a low income family, are seven times more likely to drop out than those from families with higher incomes. Sioux City Community Schools put a lot of effort into making those that live in poverty, have the High School experience that everyone else has. According to the principal of North High School, the school provides many support systems for the 60% (roughly 856) of students that come from a low income family.
Mr. Dumkreiger says that the school provides free or reduced lunch, transportation, has the caring closet, housing assistance, and works hard to make sure those student continue to get the education that they need. After talking to many students, it was gathered that it isn't clear that there are support systems for those struggling with poverty, but looking into statistics, it is clear that SCCSD is doing something right. As a community, 77% of the students meet the goal for reading tests, which is 3% lower than the state average. However, those with free or reduced lunch are actually higher than the state average of low income students at 68.5%. Sioux City Community Schools are doing a phenomenal job at supporting those students that struggle with poverty.
Works Cited
"11 Facts About Education and Poverty in America." dosomething.org. N.p., 5 Mar. 2014. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.
HIPAA. Report Card. Digital image. Med City News. N.p., 1 Apr. 2014. Web. 11 Feb. 2015
McPhillips, Deidre A. Graduation Caps. Digital image. The Sentinel. N.p., 19 Aug. 2014. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.
"The real tragedy of the poor is the poverty of their aspirations."
-Adam Smith
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