A key indicator is clear: Louisville is not gaining enough ground fast enough to leapfrog into the top tier among its peer cities on the Education Deep Driver focused on the percent of young adults with a bachelor’s degreee.
The 2009 Competitive City Report, released last week, found that the number of college-educated young adults (age 25-34) living in Louisville is slightly lower than it was in Census 2000.
Earlier research had showed that while young people in Louisville enter post-secondary school in about the same proportion as young people in more highly educated cities, the proportion who come out with a bachelor’s degree is lower.
Far too many fall by the wayside before they earn a degree, probably as a result of financial, educational, and life issues.
In order to move ahead, somehow the Louisville community has to change that dynamic --- remove the barriers, or change the climate to ensure that more young people stick and stay in college and graduate with a degree.
With Every1Reads, the community proved that with a savvy strategy, lots of people pitching in, and some resources, we moved the needle on how many children read on grade level.
How can we do that for young people going to college?
How can we get more to go – and more to stick and stay and come out with a degree?