Tennessee Shows Reduction in the Number of Children Living in Concentrated Poverty

One of 29 States Nationwide to Show Progress in Child Poverty Rate According to New Data Snapshot from the Annie E. Casey Foundation

Nashville, TN – The percentage of Tennessee children living in areas of concentrated poverty fell 7% between 2013 and 2017, according to “Children Living in High Poverty, Low-Opportunity Neighborhoods,” a new KIDS COUNT® data snapshot released today by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

Using the latest data available from the U.S. Census Bureau, the snapshot examines where concentrated poverty has worsened across the country despite a long period of national economic expansion.

Living in a neighborhood with a high level of concentrated poverty, in addition to putting children at risk from environmental exposure and reduced opportunities, can cause chronic stress and trauma.

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Kids Count State of the Child: Are Tennessee Children Prepared to Learn?

Nashville, TN – At the beginning of the school year, children wait for the school bus or in the drop-off lane for their first experience of school. Many of them arrive with the skills they need to learn. Many, however, arrive with gaps in the foundation for learning that must be filled so they can make the most of their experience.

Children do not enter school as blank slates, each equally impressionable to educators’ efforts. Children enter school with figurative backpacks. Some children come with an eagerness to learn, good health, emotional security and a sense of safety fostered by a supportive family and community. Others come without important tools for learning and already weighed down by the trauma of poverty, hunger, violence or abuse.

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Tennessee Improves in National KIDS COUNT Ranking on Child Well-Being

Nashville, TN – Tennessee is 36th this year in the annual KIDS COUNT National Data Book ranking on child well-being, better than its 39th ranking in 2013. The state is among the five states with the biggest improvements in overall rankings from 2013 to 2014.

The Data Book rates states on four domains: Economic Well-Being, Education, Health, and Family and Community. Each domain is comprised of four measures. When the most recently available data were compared to those from 2005, Tennessee improved on 10 of the 16 measures; worsened on five and remained the same on one, paralleling national changes.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oz-tTU7vFtI[/youtube] [Read more]

Tennessee Fourth Graders’ National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Reading Scores Improved over 10-Year Period

Nashville, TN – Fourth grade reading scores of Tennessee students improved more over the past 10 years than those of students in most other states, a new data snapshot on education finds.

The report, KIDS COUNT Data Snapshot: Early Reading Proficiency in the United States, compares 2003 and 2013 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) fourth grade reading scores.

It was issued by the Annie E. Casey Foundation KIDS COUNT Program. [Read more]

Tennessee Celebrates Child Health Week

Nashville, TN – Governor Bill Haslam has proclaimed October 3rd-9th, 2011 Child Health Week in Tennessee. State officials recently celebrated Tennessee’s highest-ever ranking for child well-being as part of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s KidsCount Data Release.

On the heels of that announcement, Tennesseans are encouraged to put the health and well-being of children first during Child Health Week, and every week in the year ahead. [Read more]