Smart Communities

Early Childhood Education: Investment that Keeps on Giving

Last night I heard Art Rolnick, senior vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, talk in compelling terms about the return on investment from early childhood education. While estimates run as high as 16 percent on the dollar, Rolnick thinks that is conservative based on other impact. This is something we have thought for sometime but here it is in black and white. 

Pay now or pay later as a society for children who do not reach the potential they have. Note I said, "potential they have." Often people think that children who do not excel at school just don't have it like the others. What this and other research show is the growing up in poverty and with the stresses that often come with that causes children's brains to develop differently. Add to that lack in many cases of high quality childcare and parental involvement and the picture becomes clearer. Take a look at this work and what they are doing in Minnesota--urban and rural-- to address the problem. It is a model that will work anywhere if we have the public will to do it.

Walking School Bus

This week my UVA students sponsored a conference entitled, "Making Charlottesville a World-Class City for Children." This is a great place to live no doubt about it and we call ourselves "world-class" but we wanted to know what that meant in the care and support of children. One of the areas of interest among the students and the topic of presentation was the preventive health of children particularly access to food, access to health care, and a built environment that supports exercise. A statistic they used was that 43% of children in Charlottesville are either obese or at risk of being obese. This compares to national statistics of 16 to 33% obesity among children. The "at-risk" numbers would move this range even higher. The long-term effects of childhood obesity are significant.

One of the ideas that was suggested was encouraging and supporting children walking to school again. We have moved away from this in the last couple of decades. Part of it was the loss of the neighborhood school but also safety and time issues influenced the decision for most families. The walking school bus idea is that one parent walks a group of children to school. At the appointed time (not unlike a bus schedule) children are picked up from the front of their home or another appointed spot and walked to school with other children. The parent role rotates so for most of the week non-walking parents actually have more time at home in the morning. I had heard about this idea before but I am really enamored with it now. It seems like a win-win particularly when the weather is nice. Float this idea in your community and neighborhood and see how people feel. 

Urban Policy 101: Change in the Right Way

Yesterday's blog was concerned with our renewed efforts toward an urban policy for the nation. I could also add rural policy to that sentence since I think we have come up short there too. As Jane Jacobs said years ago, "we have sacked our cities." That we have. I won't offer my treatise this morning on why I think this has happened but suffice it to say that our policies, despite billions of dollars spent, have resulted in an under-investment in cities not the opposite. So what to do now? 

In an interesting new book by Joshua Cooper Ramo, The Age of the Unthinkable, he suggests some global tactics that might just work for cities too. The premise of the book is that the new age requires new thinking. In this complex world we need to think of interrelated responses and approaches to the world's issues. In some ways this theme is echoed this morning by David Brooks when he asks how we will organize ourselves to deal with 21st century challenges like Swine flu, the threat of terrorism, and global finance. Ramo suggests throwing out the old and bringing in a new ways to address issues that deals with a higher order thinking about chaos and uncertainty. Now just yesterday I said that the best thing that the new urban czar could do is figure where we have been before we invest billions more with limited results. I still feel that way despite Mr. Ramo's persuasive arguments.

Here is the issue for cities in Urban Policy 101: cities require duel investments in people and place that only the federal government can provide in a comprehensive way. States and localities must pick up the slack by connecting the dots and assuring that the building blocks to build an economy and secure families are in place. The most important of those investments must occur in a way to make cities desirable for middle class families to stay or to locate. That investment must support the high performance of inner city schools. Note I did say improvement of the schools--I said performance of the schools. We have invested in schools with too little attention to the conditions and environment of the children while they are not in school. So how can we have higher performing schools? By investing in foundational supports that prepare children to learn--early childhood education, parent training, quality daycare, tutoring, etc. I actually think this is a step toward higher order thinking for our urban policy. 

A New Urban Agenda-Some Advice

With the establishment of the new office of Urban Affairs, President Obama is signaling the importance of cities to the social fabric and economic engine of the country. I applaud the effort and believe it is critical. But some friendly advice to the new head and his staff--read the history. 

After spending the last semester studying urban policy I can say without reservation that it has historically been a political mess for the most part. Policy has been driven by the presidents with bunch of special interests trying to move it in one way or the other. We have tried almost everything with not enough success. Take some time, read some books, study the results of policy, and come up with things that will change the prospects for cities and the people who live in them once and for all. 

National Journal/Allstate: Americans and the Economy

Today a report from The National Journal and Allstate will be released that measures Americans feelings about our cuurent economic state. Just like statistics and reports of any kind, the conclusion can be different depending on your point of view. I happen to like the conclusion that David Brooks had this morning in the New York Times. Brooks said that the responses to the report show that Americans are cautious and scared about the economy but convinced that things will get better (my words not his). Also Brooks doesn't read any anomalies in the report from reactions to previous crises. People believe that they can help themselves and many still believe that the best years are ahead. There was no real sense that government should be more involved except in the area of health care reform. People still think big business has good ideas to offer. I, like Brook, thought this was a hopeful sign. People have not given up; quite the contrary. I heard this a bit last night from my teenager who I asked about the stock market closing for yesterday. He said, "things are really looking up." Hope is right.

Rural Broadband

President Obama and others have spoken passionately about the need to extend broadband coverage to rural areas of our country. More than $7 billion was budgeted in the stimulus package to close the "digital divide" and create jobs in rural areas.  Cited not only as the link to the larger world, it is considered the foundation for entrance into the global economy. Few would argue with the importance in today's world of internet access. 

Two very interesting articles over the last several days have helped explain and further this discussion for me. In The Redwood Times article, the reporter helps us understand what is meant by broadband access and some of the nuances of creating access to rural areas. A front-page article by Cecilia Kang  in The Washington Post this morning compares the impact of broadband on two Virginia rural communities--Rose Hill and Lebanon. Both have received broadband access over the last couple of years but only Lebanon has really used it to jump start its economic development efforts. In the case of Rose Hill, internet access has created a small growth in home-based businesses. In Lebanon the story was quite different. Thanks to broadband among other things, Lebanon was able to land two new corporations in town: Northup Grumman and software maker CGI. Around 700 jobs have been created between the two with a starting salary of about $50,000. The important thing to read in the sentence above was not the job creation numbers but "among other things." Lebanon had a better educated workforce, implemented a strong workforce training program, and residents have more of an interest in the possibilities. In Rose Hill only 29% of residents have a high school diploma versus 71 percent in Lebanon and most telling, only one in three residents in Rose Hill even signed up for internet service. So it not just about the access, it is about use and interest. Mark Twain summed it up best:  

The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them.  The same could be said of broadband usage.

McKinsey Report Looks at Education

In a new report by McKinsey and Company, America's educational achievement continues to drop. This is not news in and of itself but the rock solid conclusion should eliminate any doubts of the consequences. This will affect our ability to compete in the global economy. In an op-ed this morning, Thomas Friedman cites the report and basically calls for us to wake up once and for all. Quoting financial guru Warren Buffet who said. "only when the tide goes out do you know who is wearing a bathing suit," Friedman says that the tide is out on our economy and education and we are left standing...bare on this issue. 

What difference would it if we were making the progress we need to make? Read on from Friedman's column in today's New York Times:

Using an economic model created for this study, McKinsey showed how much those gaps are costing us. Suppose, it noted, “that in the 15 years after the 1983 report ‘A Nation at Risk’ sounded the alarm about the ‘rising tide of mediocrity’ in American education,” the U.S. had lifted lagging student achievement to higher benchmarks of performance? What would have happened?

The answer, says McKinsey: If America had closed the international achievement gap between 1983 and 1998 and hadraised its performance to the level of such nations as Finland and South Korea, United States G.D.P. in 2008 would have been between $1.3 trillion and $2.3 trillion higher. If we had closed the racial achievement gap and black and Latino student performance had caught up with that of white students by 1998, G.D.P. in 2008 would have been between $310 billion and $525 billion higher. If the gap between low-income students and the rest had been narrowed, G.D.P. in 2008 would have been $400 billion to $670 billion higher.

Remember the Children

Bob Herbert's op-ed this morning on the effects of the recession on children needs reading and re-reading. They are perhaps the hardest hit by all this as their parents struggle to make ends meet, as they lose their homes and safety net, and as they lose their health care. Things were not all that great for children in this country before this all came to light and the economic downturn makes it worse. Take a look at his last line and ask yourself what your community is doing.

Reset Our Priorities

Tom Brokaw wrote an excellent op-ed in the New York Times this morning about things that states and localities might do to improve their efficiency. For the most part I agree with him. Duplication of efforts with regard to services, higher education, etc. are places to look for consolidation. Having a college, university, or community college within a community's boundaries have almost become a right. Where I will take issue however is how we balance community pride and well-being over efficiency. That is the rub.

A few years ago the U.S. Postal Service took a look at the post office in this rural village where I have a small home. Probably the numbers do not really justify having a post office in our town when there is a larger one just a few miles away. But the post office is the center of our community. Taking it away would damage the community spirit in untold ways. That is what we need to watch is this kind of scale-back, saving environment. Here is an example of what I mean from another small town Williamsville, Virginia.

Twitter--It's More than Birds

Twitter is an instantaneous social networking site using the web and cell phones. It is advancing the idea of text messaging beyond its original bounds. I still don't understand how I can twitter but I am working on it. Brad Rourke wrote a very helpful blog on this new communication phenomenon.  Thought you would find it interesting.

Ten Tips For Twitter Newbies

So you’ve signed up for Twitter, followed your best friend and your spouse, and posted two updates. (You are in good company if one of your first updates says: “Trying to figure out Twitter.”) So now what?

Here are ten tips to get started.

1. Look around and follow a handful of people. Look at who your friend or spouse is following. (By clicking the “following” link on their page.) Now, see who those people are following. Keep going along this way, looking at who people follow. Start following a few people who seem interesting.
2. Now, sit back and watch for a while. Now that you are following some people, your Twitter home page will have a series of updates. Each time you look, there will be more, as the people you are following issue their own updates. Just watch for a few days; see what people say and how they say it.
3. When you are ready, start updating yourself. Keep it limited at first. A good amount to work up to is between two and ten updates per day.
4. Now . . . how do you gain followers? Interact! Send “@ replies” to people’s updates that you find interesting. That means if you see something interesting that Ashton Kutcher said, you update “@aplusk That is interesting. I recently wrote an article about that. It’s here: http://tr.im/irj3.” That will show up in Ashton’s “@ replies” list. Ashton may not notice, but then again he may.
5. Another strategy: share links. Browse the web and find cool stuff. Share it. A good format is: “Wow, what a great way to get blueberry stains out of tablecloths. http://tr.im/irj3.”
6. Another strategy: “Retweet.” I hate the word but the concept is simple. If someone says something that is cool, or shares a link that is cool, retweet it! Say Ashton has this update: “I want this new vehiclehttp://tr.im/irj3.” You check out the link and damn, it really IS cool! If you are pressed for time, you say this: “RT @aplusk I want this new vehicle http://tr.im/irj3.” (See, you just copy what he posted along with his name, so there is attribution, an RT.” If you have a minute more, you say WHY you think it’s cool: “Via @aplusk A new kind of electric skateboard. Whoa! http://tr.im/irj3.”
7. If you find someone to follow who you think issues really interesting updates, you may want to tell people. When you do, it is considered proper form to use their Twitter name preceded by the character @. So “I am excited to follow @aplusk. So cool!” That way @aplusk can know that you announced you were following her, and feels good.
8. One thing people look at when deciding whether to follow someone is ratio of followers to following. You should have more followers than you follow back. For a business, it can get to be more 50/50, but if you are following more than follow you, people assume you may be a spammer. I get lots of people following me that obviously are marketing something, with like 400 people they are following but like 100 followers.
9. People use search.twitter.com to search for their own name (with the @ sign) to see if people are mentioning them. You should too. That way you will notice when people retweet your stuff (and that’s how Ashton finds out you are a big fan.) The whole ecosystem of Twitter is all about sharing. The more you share, the more people like you and the more they follow you.
10. What’s up with the short links, like tr.im and is.gd and tinyurl.com and bit.ly??? Those are url shorteners. People expect to see shortened links in Twitter and speaking for myself, I mistrust people who post full, unshortened links because it feels like they are trying too hard to market something. (Remember, even if your purpose is to market, people are on a hair-trigger for filtering people out and dropping their follows). So, pick a url-shortener you like and use it. You enter a web address and it gives you a shortened url, suitable for the compressed world of Twitter. bit.ly and tr.imalso let you see stats on who is clicking on the links you send out. This is also useful when you share links that you are not in control of.

Okay, I hope that is helpful. Feel free to follow me! My Twitter name is @bradrourke.