St. Vrain poverty rate outpaces state average

from the Longmont Times Call

Colorado leads country in cases

By Victoria A.F. Camron

Carlota Loya Hernandez knows the 80 or so children living at Casa de la Esperanza need more than good reading skills to be successful.

“I want the kids, by middle school, to be computer literate. That’s a huge push for them,” said Hernandez, resident program coordinator at the nonprofit housing center. Owned and operated by the Boulder County Housing Authority, Casa de la Esperanza provides educational and recreational activities for migrant workers and their families.

The educational opportunities at Casa de la Esperanza are one way to reduce childhood poverty — which is skyrocketing in Colorado, according to state officials and representatives of Colorado Children’s Campaign.

The number of Colorado children living in poverty increased 73 percent between 2000 and 2006, the largest rate increase in the country, Colorado Children’s Campaign president Megan Ferland announced Tuesday at the state Capitol.

“This is a trend our state cannot continue,” Ferland said.

With about 180,000 children living below the federal poverty line — $21,200 for a family of four in 2008 — Colorado has a childhood poverty rate that is still lower than the national average: 15.7 percent in Colorado, compared with 18.3 percent nationally, according to the report.

But the measure of poverty used by the St. Vrain Valley School District — the percentage of children eligible for free or reduced-price lunch — has risen much faster than the state average: by 8.4 percentage points in the St. Vrain Valley School District, compared with 3.6 percentage points for the state between 2003 and 2006.

For the 2007-08 school year, income for a family of four had to be below $26,845 per year for free lunch, and below $38,203 per year for reduced-price lunch.

To break the cycle of poverty, Gov. Bill Ritter said Tuesday, adults throughout the community need to make early childhood education the top priority.

“It really is thinking about our educational system as an investment,” Ritter said.

The lack of investment shows up locally in the number of low-income 4-year-olds who don’t have a preschool to attend. The St. Vrain Valley School District and Head Start have about 500 preschool seats available — but another 800 children won’t be able to attend preschools, according to the district and Head Start.

The school district has seats for 210 low-income preschoolers in the Colorado Preschool Program and is asking for 90 more seats in the fall, said Janet Gutman, director of early childhood education.

Early childhood programs pay off because children who perform well in school are more likely to graduate and stay out of legal trouble.

“It’s important for us to continue to invest in Head Start,” executive director Amy Ogilvie said.

Hernandez is making sure the young residents of Casa de la Esperanza are getting an early start as well.

At 3 years old, the children begin using computers to work on their reading, science and math skills, she said.

“I have first-graders that e-mail each other,” Hernandez said.