2024 Groundswell Community Education Profiles Spur Local Action
At the Prichard Committee, we believe improving education and economic outcomes statewide can only happen with deep community involvement. Our Groundswell Initiative is a framework for hyper-local engagement that champions collaborative leadership between families, schools, and members of the community. People stand at the center of this initiative — families, teachers, students, and neighbors — all taking an active part in building a path to a larger life for both now and for future generations.
But before we know where we are going, we must know where we currently stand. The Prichard Committee’s Groundswell Community Profiles offer us that starting point. They are an overview of the state of education in each community, including indicators of learning in progress, from preschool enrollment to degree attainment. To support community engagement, the Prichard Committee publishes new Groundswell Community Profiles annually to put local data on educational progress directly in the hands of Kentuckians.
The profiles show where a community is compared to state averages on a variety of key education measures. In addition, charts show the same data broken down by different student demographics, helping to illustrate achievement gaps and trends over time. Importantly, the profiles also include economic and health outcomes that are intricately connected to education outcomes, as well as school expenditures and demographics.
The Groundswell Community Profiles aren’t meant to be static data reports that sit on a shelf, however. These profiles are meant to be used as a starting point for larger conversations and action. There is valuable information to be gleaned from each community not included in the data. Durable skills for a changing economy such as problem-solving skills and teamwork, for example, are not easily shown in charts and tables. The best uses of this information will come from spurring conversations, seeking deeper understanding, and helping your community come together.
We are already seeing our efforts come to fruition on the ground. The Prichard Committee’s Kentucky Community Schools Initiative includes 20 districts to provide “proof points” of what is working. Local community conversations are being held around the school-student-family community collaborative model creating groundswell gatherings of community – invested in outcomes.
Building local voices to be champions for public education, finding and implementing solutions to achievement gaps, and promoting higher educational achievement in every part of the state at all levels will require deep community commitment. A key step in that process is for citizens to become more informed about student outcomes in local schools and use that information as a launching pad for conversations about how to reach more students – both inside and outside of the classroom.
The Groundswell Community Profiles are based in two core beliefs we hold at the Prichard Committee: Education is the pathway to a larger life and sustained community engagement is key to educational opportunity and success for all Kentuckians.
Comments are closed.