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The Economy and Florida's Children: What's the Real Impact?
How is the economy affecting our children? That’s the question the Sun Sentinel sought to answer this weekend.
An economic downturn doesn’t just mean stress and problems for parents. It isn’t limited to school funding cuts because of revenue shortfalls. Tough economic times also means a tougher time for our kids.
More kids are living in poverty now- which means more parents struggling to provide the basic needs for their children. In Broward county, for example, 20% of the school district’s children are on the federal subsidy that provides free breakfast and lunch; that’s up from 15% last school year.
But, what’s worse is that more children are having to change schools. It happens for a variety of reasons- maybe the rent is too expensive in the neighborhood or the family is moving for another opportunity. But, the impact is unfortunately the same. Students changing schools lose “a source of stability, friends and support for many students.”
So what can we do for those students? It’s clear that this has an impact on their education. Are we doing enough- in our communities and as a state- to help these students and their families?
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