State of Springfield Early Childhood

These similar sets of data reveal a stark reality: the proportion of Free/ Reduced Lunch students who were not prepared (31.8%) nearly matches the proportion of students who did not attend preschool and were not prepared (40.2%), and the rest of the numbers mirror each other as well. What we can deduce from this is that low-income students, whose families can't afford preschool, are disproportionately the ones who are unprepared for kindergarten and who are starting behind.

This situation reflects what is called the achievement gap, which is present even before preschool begins, when a child is as early as 18 months old. Children who start school without basic literacy are four times more likely to drop out. Without access to early childhood programs, low-income students start behind their wealthier peers and may never be able to catch up, resulting in repeated years in school (which are a cost to the family and society), higher dropout rates, and lower educational and job attainment, thereby allowing the cycle of poverty to perpetuate and causing these members of society to be more costly (i.e. reliance on welfare, Medicare and Medicaid, food stamps, and contributing less back in taxes.). Research shows the best way to to level the playing field, boost our economy, and solve this problem is simply to expand access to quality early childhood programs.

Unfortunately, in our community, this is not the only problem our youngest citizens and their families face. In addition to unequal education access, some of our young children and students suffer troubling home lives and economic struggles..

1. Although child abuse and neglect rates in Greene County have slightly decreased, it remains a devastating issue that is well above the state average. The number of children who were substantiated victims of abuse and neglect went from 405 to 384, but this is still a large problem looming in our community that needs to continue to be addressed. 

2. Children who do suffer abuse and trauma find it hard to cope, bringing the hurt and stress with them to child care and school, which can lead to disruptive behavior and even expulsion. Children who have experienced trauma are much more likely then their peers to be expelled or fall behind in school, and preschool expulsions are associated with expulsions later in school. It's no surprise that with our high rate of abuse and neglect comes a high rate of suspensions and expulsions. Springfield's rate is two times higher than the Missouri average and 17 times higher than the national k-12 rates.

3. Although it has ever decreased by 2.4% from 2011, the proportion of children under 18 living in poverty in Greene County still remains at 21.4% as of 2015. Almost a quarter of our population of children- 12,598 kids- live in extremely poor conditions, without access to most basic needs such as adequate food, healthcare, education, housing and even a safe environment.

4. In fact, an even higher rate of children- 32.4% as of 2015- live in high poverty areas. In addition, the rate of child homelessness has increased from 1.6% in 2011 to 4.6% as of 2015. 

We need to continue to work as a community- parents, teachers, students, staff, and businesses- to focus on ending these issues and creating a more equal and ultimately a more productive community for the future.