Groundwork Ohio is pleased to announce it has received a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) of Battle Creek, Michigan to complete a comprehensive data and communications project that examines outcomes from birth through career readiness with a special focus on racial and rural inequities impacting Ohio’s children. WKKF is a leader in supporting both early childhood education and racial equity. The Ohio Early Childhood Race and Rural Equity project is funded by a half a million dollar grant from the Foundation to begin January of 2018 through December of 2020.
Currently, analysis shows us that only 40% of Ohio children enter Kindergarten ready to learn. However, a deeper analysis shows us that a mere 23.9% of black students and 23% of Hispanic students enter Kindergarten ready to learn. These disparities remain even when controlling for poverty.
“Because we know that Kindergarten readiness predicts future education and career success, these numbers are an urgent problem for Ohio’s future economic prosperity,” said Shannon Jones, Executive Director of Groundwork Ohio. “Only 43% of the Ohio adult workforce have a credential or degree leading to meaningful employment, despite the fact that by 2020, 65% of all jobs will require education beyond a high school diploma. As we begin to explore this gap, it is indisputable that some kids are getting left behind more often than others,” said Jones.