Leave No Child Behind
By Marian Wright Edelman
[Marian Wright Edelman is the Founder and President of the Children`s Defense Fund. In preparation for their annual National Conference scheduled for Houston April 29-May 2, she wrote a brief introduction for their official program, a part of which is shared here.]
"…As the Children`s Defense Fund 1999 Annual National Conference meets on the cusp of a new era, few matters concern Americans more than the quality of education provided for our children. Our future as a thriving nation depends on having a literate, skilled population with the ability to reason clearly, solve problems, and apply and advance knowledge. A sound education for each child will contribute enormously to a population in the next century that will be able to succeed in the workplace and achieve financial and personal growth and security. Yet, at this critical moment in time, America`s educational system fails to provide millions of children with the tools they need for success.
By numerous indicators, only a fraction of the students in most of our schools are achieving at high levels and many leave school without the critical skills they need to succeed in the workplace.
Far too many students drop out of school before they have the credentials to compete for good jobs that will provide financial security for themselves and their families.
A rapidly growing economic gap has developed between those who complete four years of college and those with only a high school education or less. In 1997, college graduates on average made over $40,000 compared to less than $23,000 earned by the average high school graduate-a wage gap of 76%.
Far too many students and families still lack appropriate access to medical care due to a lack of insurance and still more lack the option of quality child care and preschool experience in the early years when parents have to work or are unable to afford or provide it.
Today, more than 14 million American children (nearly one in five) live in poverty even though the economy continues to expand, and more and more millionaires are created each day.
While the number of poor children has not decreased during the past five years of America`s economic expansion, the number of poor children living in working families has steadily increased. Indeed, nearly 10 million of these 14 million poor children live in a household where at least one person worked in 1997.
And, more poor children are very poor. The number of children living in families with incomes below one-half of the federal poverty line (which equals about $6,400 a year for a three-person family, or less than $123 a week) increased in 1997 for the second year in a row. The number of these children has increased by 20 percent since 1995.
Clearly, the face of poverty in America today is that of a child. Children make up 40 percent of America`s poor, and it hurts them. It hurts them terribly. It stunts their growth, impairs their healthy and successful development, undermines their ability to be ready for school, and reduces their likeliness of success in school. Schools pay more when poor children need special education or must repeat a grade. Businesses pay more when poor children grow up to be less educated, less productive workers. Taxpayers pay more for education, social services, medical care, and for the criminal justice system that must respond to societal problems caused by poverty, illiteracy, and poor health….
But the news on the child education front is not all bleak. While the challenges facing education in America today are great, the public`s interest in improving the quality of education is also great. Concern about the quality of education was at the top of the list in numerous public opinion polls taken in 1998. This heightened level of public attention provides a unique opportunity for leadership in achieving the kinds of educational reform that will benefit all children and the nation…"
