The Charleston Promise Neighborhood (CPN) recently applied for a federal planning grant and, as part of that process, aggregated substantial data about the need for services in the neighborhood. Below is an excerpt taken directly from that grant:
In this community where almost 30% of residents lack a high school diploma, the Neighborhood is highly undereducated. Not one of the four CPN elementary schools reached Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in 2008, and only two were able to meet AYP in 2009 (SCDE, AYP Data). Nearly 90% of CPN residents are African- American, and the educational achievement gap reveals a desperate need for sustainable, all encompassing change. With a five-year gap of 53% in English Language Arts and 58% in mathematics, the African-American students from the CPN have fallen considerably behind the White students of the countywide district. Standardized reading level data indicates that as many as 70% of rising CPN third-graders are reading at least two grade levels behind (CCSD Spring Lexile Scores, 2009).
The traditional feeder pattern of the CPN schools does not paint a promising picture. North Charleston HS, one of the two CPN high schools is considered a dropout factory, where the graduation rate was only 40.2% for the 2008-2009 school year. The second, Burke HS, had a graduation rate of 62.0% (SCDE School Report Cards).
Similarly, due to lack of nutrition and focused early childhood education, preventable developmental delays are disproportionately common. On district-wide measures of Early Childhood Development, between 45% and 60% of tested 3-year olds entering the four CPN schools scored in the lowest quartile (CCSD, DIAL-3). Such avoidable delays demonstrate the dire need for prenatal wellness and early education programs. In fact, over 700 applications were filed for the 104 2009-2010 Early Head Start openings across the district. Three hundred of these applicants qualified under the highest category of need, yet only one-third could be served, due to significant funding and capacity constraints. Of those available slots, only 32 children will be served in CPN Early Head Start programs. There are 155 children in 4K Head Start programs.
Close to 40% of residents subsist in poverty and more than 60% live below 200% of the poverty line—indications of the dire need for systemic and all encompassing change (US Census Bureau). Indeed, in a Neighborhood where poverty has become a way of life, over 90% of approximately 1,700 students receive free and reduced price meals—an illustration of both nutritional and material poverty (SCDE E-Rate Data).
A lack of stable, safe housing increases the likelihood that students will change schools many times per year, and contributes to a high student mobility rate of nearly 25%, based on the first official enrollment numbers. Similarly, access to healthcare is a serious concern. Over 40% of residents live in medical poverty, relying on Medicaid for their total family health—twice as high as the rate for Charleston County as a whole (US Census Bureau).
Furthermore, knowing that preventable health disorders such as asthma are caused and aggravated by air pollutants, it is revealing that the CPN envelops an interstate corridor carrying 80,000 vehicles a day. A 2009 survey showed that the temporary saturation of airborne particulate matter rose higher in areas of the CPN than the regional average, and higher than the PM2.5 limits prescribed by national ambient air quality standards. The area contains only 6 public sports and recreation facilities, schools do not have robust sports or physical education programs, and most readily accessible, affordable food comes from corner convenience stores (LAMC).
Social indicators also paint a grim picture for both children and adults. Unemployment rates are high—more than double the national average (US Census Bureau). Single mothers head over 30% of all households—a number that continues to rise, with 170 children born to CPN middle and high school students in 2008 alone (DHECC, SCAN-BC Data). Existing after-school programs are mostly fee-based and space in free programs does not meet the overwhelming demand. In addition, these programs are often inaccessible to a population that disproportionately communicates via word of mouth and is dependent on public transportation.
Likewise, crime statistics describe a violent and frightening community in which to come of age. With nearly 300 violent crimes committed in 2009 and over 260 drug related charges in just one 10 month period, it is clear that the CPN is in need of programs to keep youth engaged and presented with better life choices (Charleston and North Charleston, Crime Analysis). It is estimated that as many as 40% of students attending Mary Ford Elementary have one or more incarcerated parents (ERSEA Data, CCSD).
In short, the CPN is a most distressed Neighborhood.