Montgomery County Schools Face Changing Economic Landscape

(PHILADELPHIA) October, 31 2013 – The number of low-income children in Montgomery County school districts have increased by nearly 50% in the last four years, and without adequate funding for schools, many of these students are falling behind.

Montgomery County districts have less to invest and we are seeing the results.

• Only half of children attend full day kindergarten.93.3% graduation rate, highest among suburban Philadelphia counties.
• Despite high graduation rate, 15% of students perform below grade level. A majority of those students are in the Norristown and Pottstown School Districts.
• Montgomery County school districts would receive $34 million in additional funding if Pennsylvania still followed the school funding formula adopted in 2008.

“Montgomery County has some of the best school districts in southeastern Pennsylvania,” said Donna Cooper, Executive Director of Public Citizens for Children and Youth. “But even the highest performing districts have felt the effects of the state’s lack of investment in public schools.”

PCCY recommends big changes at the district and state level. It is up to County and State leaders to make this happen.

Recommendations include:

• Give every child the option to attend full day kindergarten
• Increase resources and supports to close the academic achievement gaps within every school district
• Special efforts are needed to boost the academic performance of the Norristown and Pottstown
• County leaders must build a county-wide coalition to focus on boosting the state’s investment in every district in the county

Montgomery County is experiencing strong economic and job growth that is expected to last through the end of this decade. The County and the State should enact PCCY’s recommendations to ensure Montgomery County graduates have the high skills needed for those jobs.

“There is a potentially huge pool of home-grown talent in Montgomery County for good, high-paying jobs. Leaders at both the state and county level just need to make sure those students graduate with the high skills needed for those jobs,” Cooper said.

PCCY’s Bottom Line Reports are a four-part series looking at issues affecting children in each of Philadelphia’s suburban counties. The next three reports will focus on child health care, childhood hunger, and early child care. The Bottom Line Reports page on our website www.childrenfirstpa.org/bottomlinecountyreports will be updated with the release of every report.

The full report “The Bottom Line is Children: Education in Montgomery County” can be viewed online at www.childrenfirstpa.org/bleducationmontco.

http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.blogspot.com/2013/11/pa-ed-policy-roundup-nov-1-2013.html