According to the newly released State of Obesity report, Texas it the 10th most obese state in the country. Now the American Heart Association along with many other organizations are asking parents, teachers, and health advocates to step up for kids health and take action. AHA is asking anyone who is interested in supporting kids in Texas with more physical activity and access to healthier foods, to join the movement through social media and beyond! Latino kids often face limited access to healthy food and physical activity, creating awareness of these inequities is a helpful way to inform communities and get initiative moving for healthier changes. To join the Thunderclap and share the message, click here. To learn more about how you can take action for Texas kids, ...
A new analysis of federal data details the serious and widespread problem of chronic absenteeism in public schools. It has long been a belief that skipping one or two days of school in a month has little impact on a student’s academic success has been proven statically incorrect. According to the new study entitled “Preventing Missed Opportunity,” missing just two days in a month can “expose kids to a cascade of academic setbacks,” ranging from lower reading and math scores in third grade to higher risks of dropping out of high school. The data studied showed that the problem of chronic absenteeism was both widespread and concentrated. More than 6 million students were found to be chronically absent and half attended just 4% of the nation’s school districts and only 12% ...
Education has long been considered key in attaining financial and professional success in life and it is also tied closely into maintaining physical and mental health. Latinos have long lagged behind other races and ethnicities in the United States in terms of educational attainment. In the past decade, that has changed dramatically. In a survey conducted recently to gauge issues of importance among Latinos for the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election, over 80% cited education as being important. For many Latinos, economic barriers or obstacles still play a substantial part in furthering education. While the rate of Latino high school dropouts has declined and college enrollment has increased, Latinos still trail other groups in earning bachelor’s degrees. In a 2014 National Journal poll, ...
Economic segregation in America’s school systems is a growing concern that many education advocates are becoming alarmed about. According to new data from the research organization EdBuild, the most “guilty” of economic segregation – separating students from financially wealthy families homes from those that come from financially poor families and homes – are not concentrated in any one region of the country. School districts in Southern states, those where years of racial tension and inequality are still felt in many places, were mostly absent from the top 50 most economically segregated. Only two schools from Birmingham, Ala. (3.5% Latino population) were among the most segregated when comparing poverty rates. In order to reduce health disparities, it is critical to ...
The United States spends far more on health care than any other developed nation; a record 17.5% of the country’s gross domestic product in 2014 was spent on health care. However, life expectancy in the U.S. is lower, maternal and infant mortality is higher. Also, the prevalence of chronic illness is far more common in the U.S. than in European countries. These poor health outcomes are also connected to another type of spending where the country falls far below multiple European countries. In terms of social services that target education, housing, nutrition and poverty, the U.S. is spending significantly less. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) analyzed this spending in 2011 and found the ratio of social service to medical care spending was associated with “better health ...
Being the new kid in school is always tough, especially when it happens in the middle of the school year. Finding new friends, adapting to new teachers and rules, adjusting to a new home, all are part of a difficult transition that many kids face. According to figures collected by the University of California, Santa Barbara, more than 6.5 million students nationwide are frequently the “new kid,” and it is frequently detrimental to their social and academic development. More and more studies are being done on student mobility and it suggests that this is a key indicator in identifying vulnerable students. Understanding this data can also ensure that they stay on a path toward academic achievement. “To be sure, multiple moves are a dangerous signal, but even one move ...
Earlier in August, the financial analyzing website Wallethub released a ranking of the states with the best and worst public school systems. Analysts gathered data from several organizations, including the U.S. Census Bureau and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in order to grade school systems on their quality and safety. With school resuming session, many parents or guardians might be wondering whether they’ve selected the best school districts to secure their children’s academic success and future successes in life. For many parents and guardians, “quality” is a question of public funding that is available. While that may be true in many cases, more resources do not always correlate with better academic performance, as our findings demonstrate. So what did ...
According to new research from the American Journal of Public Health, Latino majority schools are more likely to be located near fast food and tobacco outlets than their white peers. In fact, researchers found that every 10 percent increase in the proportion of a school’s Hispanic students was associated with a five percent higher likelihood the school was within walking distance of places to buy both tobacco and fast food, researchers told Reuters. According to researchers, this is the first study to consider the availability of fast food and tobacco in regards to students' socioeconomic and racial characteristics. They also found that lower income students had a three percent higher likelihood that the school was in walking distance to both fast food and tobacco. To ...
Educational attainment for U.S. Latinos has rapidly changed in recent years as it has begun reflecting the population’s growth. Latinos have experienced growth in the nation’s public K-12 schools and in its colleges and universities. In the past 10 years, the high school dropout rate for Latinos has declined while college enrollment has increased. Latinos still trail other ethnic and racial groups in terms of bachelor’s degrees earned. In a recent poll, roughly 83% cited education as being very important in the upcoming U.S. presidential election, ranking alongside the economy, health care, and terrorism as the top issues for Latinos. Despite the emphasis on education and the gains Latinos have made, there are still obstacles to college enrollment for many. In a 2014 National ...
