| 5,939
people who could not afford prescription medication were connected to
long-term prescription solutions. |
| 10,993
people received free or discounted legal services to assist them and
their families in times of crisis. |
| 15,514
area youth enhanced their understanding of pregnancy prevention. |
"Be the change you want to see in the world."
-Mahatma Gandhi
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Ohio’s
United Way Agencies work with systems and partners to ensure that
children thrive and arrive at kindergarten ready to learn, and that
parents/caregivers are supported towards that effort. United
Way of the Greater Dayton Area places the highest priority and emphasis
on early and continued education. Dayton Public Schools
Superintendent Lori Ward has recently charged the Greater Dayton Area
Education System to promote “strong schools in a strong neighborhood,
[which] collectively will build a strong city.”
Performance History and Current Needs:
In
the SFY 2010-2011 Budget, the State of Ohio’s early care and education
systems sustained considerable funding cuts, reducing total investment
in the entire state by more than $300 million dollars, eliminating
programs and significantly reducing others.
Despite these
significant funding cuts, the Greater Dayton Area’s school systems
(comprised of Greene, Preble, and Montgomery Counties) experienced the
following successes:
• The 2010 District
Report Card indicated the District’s performance index, which measures
the achievement of every tested student, was up from 70.8 last year to
72.6 for the 2009-2010 school year.
• Dayton
Public Schools improved in 10 of 14 areas in reading and math in the
OAA (Ohio Achievement Assessment) in grades 3 through 8 and the OGT
(Ohio Graduation Test) in grade 10.
• Attendance increased to 92% in the 2009-2010 school year—the highest rate since 1996.
While
improvements have been made despite funding cuts, the United Way of the
Greater Dayton Area continues to advocate for increasing focus on early
education, quality academic programs at every grade level, increasing
proficiency in all academic areas, and ,lastly, supportive communities
and sufficient social services availability.
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United Way of the Greater Dayton Area Supports the Following Measures:
Research
indicates that nearly 90% of brain growth occurs during the first 5
years of a child’s life. This statistic in itself shows the
importance of early education. In Montgomery County, only 40% of
children are kindergarten ready when they enroll in school. Families
need, and deserve, high quality home visitation programs and high
quality early learning environments to prepare their young children for
future academic success.
Quality academic programs
are needed at every grade level to ensure Dayton Area children are
sufficiently prepared to enter the work force and higher
education.
Increasing proficiency in all academic
areas is also paramount, as more than 30% of Ohio 8th graders are not
proficient in math or science in 2010 (per the Ohio Department of
Education). On the 2009 National Assessment of Educational
Progress, only 22% of economically disadvantaged Ohio 4th graders were
proficient in math, and approximately 15% were proficient in reading
(per the 2009-2010 Ohio Department of Education State Report
Card).
Supportive communities and sufficiently
manned/adequately funded social services will need to continue
throughout the Greater Dayton Area. United Way of the
Greater Dayton Area continues to advocate there is also a strong moral
and economic imperative to invest in Dayton’s children, as investment
in children has one of the highest rates of return of any human capital
investment possible.
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Thanks to You:
Priority Issue: Education
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