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A Look at The Toledo Black Agenda
A wide
range of leaders in Toledo’s Black community have joined
forces to put together a report on the challenges facing
that community in six critical areas.
The
report, The Toledo Black Agenda, a months-long project in
the making, examines historic obstacles and current
challenges in the areas of criminal justice, economic
development, education, housing, health, workforce
development.
The
community leaders and experts were assembled by Lisa
McDuffie, CEO of YWCA of Northwest Ohio and Robin Reese, CEO
of Lucas County Children Services.
Now
Toledo’s Black Agenda will be made available to local
government agencies, along with a host of private and public
companies and entities in order to gather community-wide
support for the demands and suggestions proposed in the
report.
We are
printing excerpts from the report over the next few weeks.
The following is an excerpt from the third pillar – the
Education Pillar
The
entire report can be read online at thetruthtoledo.com
PART III: THE EDUCATION PILLAR
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
Achieving
quality education has been a struggle for Black Americans in
this country since its inception. However, we have seen
glimpses of historical references that highlight the
tenacity, necessity, and achievement of great strides dating
back to educational leaders such as Fannie Jackson Coppin,
Mary McLeod Bethune, Anna Julia Cooper, and the seminal
Brown v. Topeka Board of Education U.S. Supreme Court
decision.
Education
is the only organizational system in the United States that
touches and has the propensity to touch every American
citizen. Therefore, it is pertinent in 2020, and beyond,
that education be examined in its totality in the education
of Black children considering the current political climate
and Black Lives Matter movement. Black Americans continue to
receive low quality education (opportunity/achievement gap,
lower standardized test scores) in comparison to their White
counterparts CITATION Watss \l 1033 (Watson & McClellan,
2020). The juxtaposition of education when comparing Black
students with other students of comparable housing, parental
education level, and parental income shows disparate
discrepancy and are interconnected with American historical
practices of systemic housing discrimination and segregated
educationCITATION Del12 \t \l 1033 (Delpit, 2012).
Comparable statistics and circumstances levels out when
controlling for systemic racism. Therefore, we posit that
when systemic racism is addressed in totality, there will be
an increase in academic achievement, improvement of school
culture, increased parental engagement, and other
contributing factors that will sustain neighborhoods,
communities, and localities.
CONTEXTUAL STATISTICS
The
statistics are very important in an effort to contextualize
the state of residents while offering a snapshot of the
complexity of the responsibility of school districts as well
as the municipalities in which the residents reside. As
stated, education as a system touches every American and
every resident in Toledo, however, it must be noted that
statistics such as poverty rates and housing valuation has a
disparate impact on educational attainment and the resources
allocated to achieve optimal levels of education.
Toledo Residents
In
2018-2019, the city of Toledo had approximately 274,973
residents. Of that 27.1% are Black, 74,242. Toledo’s
population is declining between 1-3% annually. The median
household income in Toledo in 2018 was $35,339, for Black
Toledo residents, the median household income was $21,788,
whereas the states median household income was $54,021.
Toledo has poverty rate of 26.5%, whereas 37% of Black
Toledo residents are living in poverty. The median home
value in Toledo in 2018 was $78,400 whereas the states
median home value was $144,200 (https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/toledocityohio).
12% of
Toledo residents have a bachelor’s degree
.8% of
Toledo residents have a doctorate degree
32.6% of
Toledo residents have a high school diploma/GED equivalent
In the
greater Toledo area, there are approximately 40,000 students
enrolled in public and parochial schools. Of that TPS, the
4th largest urban school district in Ohio enrolls
23,166 students whereas 13,056 are enrolled in parochial and
approximately 3,583 enrolled in early literacy/pre-K
programs. TPS has a 65% minority population with Black
students comprising 44%, totalling 10,251 students. TPS as
a district has 85% economically distressed population with
Black students comprising 45%, totaling 9,044. (https://sites.google.com/a/tps.org/tps-data-dashboard/)
The
greater Toledo area also has robust parochial school
system. Approximately 13,056 are enrolled in local
parochial schools. Of that population, approximately 31%
are minority and mostly Black. The actual data set on Black
students in parochial schools is an estimate because of
varying reporting mechanisms in contrast to public data set
required by local public-school districts. However,
approximately 85% of the minority students that attend
parochial schools use the EdChoice voucher program provided
through State of Ohio Department of Education. The voucher
program allocates approximately $4,650 towards parochial
school tuition and fees. The voucher does not cover 100%
tuition and fees. This allocation which is normally
ascribed to local school districts is reduced by the number
of students that exit the public-school system.
However,
the local school district, TPS in this matter is still
responsible for transportation and servicing of IEP’s of
students that reside in their district with no increase in
allocation of state budget. Therefore, TPS is strained
financially while still adhering to state mandates to
service all students that reside in their district
regardless of those students attend a TPS school. A common
practice and mandated by the state are that TPS school
counselors are servicing students in parochial school
districts by overseeing the management of IEP and 504
documentation in conjunction with TPS providing
transportation to and from parochial schools. It can be
asserted that parochial schools are being subsidized by the
state via TPS which in sum strains an economically
distressed district.
The state
data shows for the area states that 14% of all students have
a learning disability, requiring a IEP or 504. These
students have a 72% graduation rate. These statistics
encapsulate the local area. However, the data is unclear and
unavailable regarding educational attainment, educational
success, diversity, cultural competence or anti-racism that
encompasses the educational experience within parochial
schools. Therefore our recommendations for educating Black
students in Toledo ALL educating entities that are
responsible for or have taken responsibility for educating
Black students..
The Importance of Quality Pre-K
Research demonstrates that the early years (birth through
age five) are among the most important phases for children’s
cognitive and social development. Preschool programs have
been shown to improve outcomes for young children throughout
their lives. Accordingly, Pre-K programs are among our most
effective public investments: research shows an economic
return of up to $8.90 per dollar invested in Pre-K programs.[1]
Half the nation’s largest cities raise local funds dedicated
to improving quality and/or access to Pre-K. All the major
citywide Pre-K programs we examined during our research
operate based on a public funding mechanism. Funding has
chiefly been drawn from new sales taxes, city funds, school
levies, or property taxes. Successful programs have a number
of characteristics in common, including creating high
quality settings to drive positive outcomes; ensuring access
to high quality care; creating Pre-K to grade 3 alignment;
engaging partners to ensure a successful mixed-delivery
system; ensuring a system of continuous improvement;
building in flexibility as the program evolves; focusing on
service coordination; and instituting effective outreach
practices.
Access to Quality Pre-K in Toledo
Toledo is home to about 4,000 4-year olds. Nearly 40% of
these children live under the federal poverty level (FPL),
which is only $25,100 for a family of 4, and 80% are in
families under 200% of FPL. In 2018 only 18% of children,
across the city, entered kindergarten “ready to learn” based
on district Kindergarten readiness assessments.[2]
Families with low incomes constantly struggle to
afford the high cost of childcare, particularly high quality
care, which includes a strong component of early learning
curriculum-led instruction.[3]
While existing funding sources are an important part
of the current early childcare
education (ECE) system[4]
, they are not sufficient to help all families access
child care that goes beyond safe and affordable care to
provide quality early education that prepares their children
to succeed in kindergarten
and beyond.
Significant support for childcare in Toledo already exists,
including publicly funded programs, philanthropies, and
community organizations. Current funding totals about $27.5
million for 3- and 4-year olds, most of which derives from
federal sources funneled through the state to local
agencies. We estimate, however, the total cost to serve 3-
and 4-year olds in high quality care would be $60 million.[5]
Thus, less than half the total need is currently
being met. The city contains enough licensed center and
family home child care slots – about 8,400 – to serve all 3-
and 4- year olds. However, most of these slots are not high
quality, which is defined as 3-, 4-, or 5-star ratings in
the Ohio Step Up to Quality (SUTQ) system. We estimate that
about 40% of these slots will be in high quality settings in
late 2020. This proportion is likely to grow over time, as
the state’s quality rating regulations require all licensed
providers to be rated at least 3 stars in the SUTQ program
by 2025. The implication for a new Pre-K program is that by
2025 all childcare providers in the city may meet the new
programs quality requirements, thus providing enough
quality-rated slots to serve all likely participants.
However, funding will need to expand to keep pace with the
number of available slots.
CONCLUSION
Toledo’s young children have high needs and poverty is
endemic throughout city. Every major city in Ohio, and a
growing number of cities across the country, now have a
publicly funded Pre-K program. Investing in preschool is
recognized as a non-partisan investment with long-term
educational, social, and economic benefits. Moreover, new
programs can build upon a firm research base to develop best
practices for success. This is an ideal time for Toledo to
pursue this landmark education milestone.
A recommended potential program model assumes an estimated
program budget of $7 million. Tuition credits comprise about
75% of the program budget and the remaining percentage
covers quality improvement and supports; evaluation and data
support; outreach and marketing; and management and
administration. The total program costs assume around 1,000
eligible participants in each age cohort (i.e, age 3 or age
4) at the start of the program, increasing over an
eight-year period as more high quality preschool slots
become available.
A
“universal access” to Pre-K program focused on high-quality
care to 4-year olds in Toledo is financially feasible within
the proposed funding amount and would have a great positive
community and economic impact in both the short term and the
long term.
A Look at The Toledo Black Agenda part 1
The Toledo Black Agenda Report
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