Have you registered for our housing & schools symposium (6/19) yet?

Housing Virginia will be holding our second Housing & Schools Symposium in partnership with VCU’s Center for Urban & Regional Analysis on Friday, June 19th at the VCU Student Commons.

Last year, we gathered together the maximum capacity allowed by our venue – 200 people – and we’re on track to do the same this year. You can secure your spot today here at our registration page. Admission is $50 for the public and $20 for individual students & teachers.

We’ve also secured our session lineup. The symposium will open with a few words from Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction, Dr. Steve Staples. Following his keynote address, VCU will present the findings of a two-school case study that examines the connections between school performance and the surrounding neighborhood. An expert panel will weigh in on the results and answer questions from the audience.

In the afternoon, attendees will split up into three breakout sessions, each with its own expert panel and topic of discussion. Participants will again have an opportunity to start a dialogue with any and all panelists. We will close the symposium with a presentation from Shirley Franklin, CEO of Purpose Built Communities and former Atlanta mayor. She will share with us the success of the Purpose Built Communities model of bridging educational opportunity with community revitalization.

See below for a detailed list of panelists and topics:

This year’s symposium will be bigger and better than ever – so make sure you join in while we still have space!

(Register here)

 

Poverty debate centers on eastern vs. western Chesterfield

Based on an article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch by John Ramsey on February 14, 2015 

Addressing poverty is at the core of many policy debates in Chesterfield County these days, from development cases

Chesterfield County’s magisterial districts – John G. Ownby

to course offerings in schools.

But some elected leaders are worried that the conversations too often pit the county’s east side against the west.

More than 200 people attended a poverty forum last month at Thomas Dale High School organized by School Board Chairwoman Carrie Coyner.

Coyner, who represents the Bermuda District on the county’s east side where poverty is most visible along Jefferson Davis Highway, showed a video of the trailer parks there and presented statistics showing that children from low-income families typically perform worse in school than their peers. The first step in addressing the problem, she says, is showing people, who often perceive Chesterfield County as Richmond’s rich neighbor, that poverty there is a real and growing problem.

In addition, Bermuda District Supervisor Dorothy Jaeckle argues that the county’s development rules hinder progress because developers who want to build along Jefferson Davis and those who want to build new subdivisions in Midlothian are charged the same rates. In addition to the lower incomes, families in the Bermuda District deal with heavy traffic and other effects of industry. With access to major highways, rivers and the airport, Bermuda is home to nearly 70 percent of the county’s industrial base.

Other supervisors say they welcome the debate on how the county can revitalize its poorest areas, but they bristle at some of the arguments coming from Bermuda.

“All poverty is not located in Bermuda. It is something we need to address as a county,” said Supervisor Daniel A. Gecker, who represents the county’s wealthiest district, Midlothian, in an interview. “The continual talk of one region versus another, whether it be Bermuda versus Midlothian or east versus west, is not productive to the long-term effort of addressing those issues.”

Read the rest of the article here!

Anne E. Casey Foundation’s Kid’s Count: Virginia’s mixed results

Anne E. Casey Foundation’s Kid’s Count: Virginia’s mixed results

Meghan Resler

Every year the Anne E. Casey Foundation releases the Kid’s Count Report, chronicling the well-being of children in the areas of economic well-being, education, health, and family and community. In the past year Virginia climbed two spots in overall child well-being to a number 9 rank among the fifty states. The 2014 Kids Count report shows Virginia is moving in the right direction, especially in education, teen safety, and reductions in teen pregnancy; however the percentage of children living in poverty has risen to 15% from 13% in 2005. The percentage of children living in single parent households, living in high poverty areas and living in a household experiencing a high housing cost burden (30% or more of monthly income spent on housing) also rose.

These downward trends in economic well-being have the potential to undermine Virginia’s modest improvements in other areas, especially education. Low-income households (households with incomes less than 200% of the federal poverty level) are the most likely to experience a high housing cost burden—68% compared to Virginia’s average of 35%. Because low income households have to deal with relatively scarce resources to begin with, when they have a high housing cost burden they are particularly vulnerable to inadequate resources for food, clothing, medical care or other needs. High housing cost burden can therefore directly or indirectly cause children’s health problems, housing insecurity, and food insecurity–all of which negatively affect children’s school performance.

Richmond Schools Willing to Ask Some Hard Questions

Lynn McAteer
Vice President of Planning & Special Projects, Better Housing Coalition

Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Dana T. Bedden

Richmond Public Schools just released the results of a survey (Richmond Times Dispatch, Friday July 25, 2014) completed by teachers and instructional aides.  Superintendent Dr. Bedden commissioned the survey asking for their feedback on the status of the school system.  Over two-thirds of the instructors responded.  When asked to rate their perception of education in the city, 55 percent said it was fair to poor.  Over 40 percent rated poor to fair in their own schools, and fewer than 50 percent felt they worked in comfortable, well maintained schools.  That’s a brutal assessment of the state of affairs in the city’s schools.

But the good news is that overall teachers and instructional staff are hopeful and motivated to help our children perform better in school.  Nearly 90 percent reported that a student can expect to find someone willing to help them with their academic performance.

More disturbing findings reported drug and alcohol use, gang behaviors, rampant bullying, and disrespectful behavior to each other as well as to staff.

By and large this isn’t earth-shattering news. For years Richmond schools have not been not performing up to expectations.  What was interesting, though, is this observation by Dr. Bedden: “When that behavior is in the community, it’s going to be in the schools, too”.   This illustrates the need to address not just the academic performance of our schools, but the need to address the challenges facing our students when they go home.  If the neighborhood is plagued by crime and drug activity, then those problems will be in the school.