Low-Income By Suzy Khimm: Article Analysis

According to Tough (2016), “In 2013, for the first time, a majority of public-school students in this country -51 percent, to be precise- fell below the federal government’s low income cutoff, meaning they were eligible for a free or subsidized school lunch” (pg. 58). Children whom come from low income families are more than likely to struggle in school. They may or may not come from single family homes. As well as they may have both parents at home, but their parents may not be able to be active in their education. They may not have a way to participate in school activities, or attend conferences.

75 percent of students attend school hungry according to No Kid Hungry’s annual survey in 2014. Many things could go wrong with school lunches, such as the nutrition, where it comes from, and more specifically, the cost. Many students live in poverty, and cannot afford school lunch. This is why many schools are jumping on the idea of free and reduced lunch, which is where students with lower income receive a reduced price on their lunch, or even get it for free. More schools should support free and reduced lunch so students can obtain the nutrition they need for better learning capabilities.

School funding is a mix of different funding sources like federal, state, and local. About ninety percent of funding for education comes from state and local community. K-12 education has failed to keep up with high enrollment. Schools must spend to counter effects of poverty while many European countries alleviate these conditions through government spending. Currently more than forty percent of low income school get an extremely unfair share of state and local funds. Low income school are receiving inadequate funds for their school, whereas other schools in the United States are unfairly distributing their state and local funds. That is unfair to the low income schools because those schools really need the money for school books, field trips, etc. Funding for public schools has been quite unequal for years, but even though Americans are fully aware of this issue no one does anything to solve it. Researchers are trying to show them both sides of this unequal funding issue in public schools in order to help balance the distribution of educational funding.

The poverty status in the last 12 months for all families, White alone is 8.3%, Black alone is 30.4%, American Indian and Alaska Native alone is 37.8%, Asian alone is 16.5%, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone is 30.8%, some other race alone is 35.9%, and two or more races alone is 32.0% (U.S. Census Bureau, 2017). (ADD NEW STUFF FROM CQ ALMANAC FOR VOTING AND CONSTIUENTS)

In terms of income many of the students represent an average or below average socioeconomic status where as 26% represent a lower socioeconomic status. There is a 15% portion of students who are classified as having or living with a disability.

Finally, take a look at child poverty, which is a sensitive subject for many. National Center for Children in Poverty created a study to discover how much child poverty affected the United States. Once the research was completed, the NCCP revealed that a large percentage (“nearly half”) live their lives in poverty. This is due to the families’ inability to support children, most likely from low-income jobs.

“Poverty is about not having enough money to meet basic needs including food, clothing and shelter” (“What is Poverty,” 2016). In the United States, there are 45 million Americans are living in poverty (“45 Million Americans,” 2014). In order to determine if one is living in poverty, the United States Census Bureau has established a poverty line that they then measure, according to the individual’s income and their family size (“Poverty Thresholds,” 2016; “Poorest Cities in America,” 2016). Since the recession in 2008, many states have seen a rise of families living in poverty. Poverty is a vicious cycle and has devastating effects on young children.

In the essay, “Too Poor to Make the News,” Barbara Ehrenreich discusses how the recession in the early 2000s affected both the Nouveau Poor and the actual poor. Ehrenreich explains that the conditions for those that were already poor didn’t change. Those that belong in the Nouveau Poor group have had to make sacrifices such as giving up private jets and taking less expensive vacations. These are luxuries that these people had to give up. They aren’t essentials that are needed to live a healthy life. Those that are actually poor struggle to provide for themselves and their families on a day to day basis. Ehrenreich stated that “the already poor which is an estimated 20 to 30 percent of the population struggle to get in the best of times. This

In the United States, the Census Bureau sets the official poverty line. The figure used to compute a person’s poverty status includes any earnings, Social Security payments, child support, or other assistance. Then, using the size of the family and the ages of the family members, the Census Bureau determines which poverty threshold applies…According to this poverty measure, 12.5 percent of the U.S. population lived in poverty in 2007. (Introdution)

In 1998, more than 13 million children (19 percent of all children) under age eighteen lived in families with incomes below the official poverty threshold. Although children age eighteen and under represent 26 percent of the United States population, they comprise nearly 40 percent of the poverty population. Despite a steady decrease from 1993 (23%) to 1999 (17%) in the rate of children in poverty, the United States still ranks highest in childhood poverty among all industrialized nations.

Statistics-estimated at about 50% free or reduced lunch; 7% homeless; 6% Special education; 18% ELL

Low income children are 18 years of age and below, who live in families with an income below the federal poverty level; $23, 550 for a family of four. Although all ethnic groups share a number of children living in poverty, there is a higher number of white children at 11.4 million. Also, Children in low-income areas are also prone to live with a single parent/guardian. This is that 16.6 children live in poverty with a single parent within the United States. Children

In the U.S., low income students who live in high poverty neighborhoods do not receive the proper funds for school. The schools that they attend do not get enough of the state’s money in order to get the education they need. Students that come from wealthier families can get the help they need outside of school, if they cannot get it in school. Low income students have to take what they are given and that is not always a lot. Every student might not get a textbook that they can take home and that leaves them with no help to do their homework. This can push the student behind the rest of the class and may take them longer to catch up because

Encouraging better nutrition in school is important because fewer kids would go hungry. In Michigan a child went to pay for his meal and his balance was unpaid so he was denied a lunch. The minute the principal found out he decided to do a school meal program that had students pay later or have lunch for free (Student Denied Meal Because of Negative Balance) This child out of many could not afford a meal and the school did something about it by getting a school meal program so no child will go without food again. The (USDA) U.S. Department of Agriculture is an act that gives money to pay for low-income students’ lunch. Studies show forty present of families are considered low income in the districts (Bass and Free Lunch Programs). This meaning forty percent of families cannot afford a meal for their children and a school meal program will give food to those children who need a lunch. Studies show in Kentucky, which was the first state to enroll in the school lunch program. Low income families are saving around $500 a year (Free Lunch Programs). When these families are saving $500 a year the

Poverty has been on a incline since the economic downturn in 2007. Poverty is defined as “the state of being inferior in quality or insufficient in amount”, but a more modern definition used today is “in state of being extremely poor”. According to “Poverty in the United States” a report done by Congressional Digest, the poverty line in 2012 was 15.0 percent, which represents 46.5 million people living at or below the poverty line, and was 2.7 points higher in this year than in 2007. The article also stated that in 2012, the family poverty rate and the number of families in poverty was 11.8 percent and 9.5 million and the median income for households was $51,017, which means many of these households have students who become eligible for free lunches. In Lindsey Layton’s article “Most Public