Education key to escaping poverty today

It’s alarming to see statistics showing children who grow up in poverty in Lorain County, and more specifically in the cities of Lorain and Elyria, have a small chance of seeing a better life economically as adults.

Poverty crosses all ethnic groups, nationalities and gender. It’s everywhere.

Well, Lorain County Community College wants to reverse that disturbing trend.

College leaders say the key to leaving poverty behind is education.

To address the problem, LCCC hosted its annual Community Connection session Jan. 10 and brought community and government leaders together to discuss economic inequality through increased post-secondary education opportunities.

LCCC President Marcia J. Ballinger said educational attainment is imperative to the economy in Lorain County for meaningful employment and empowering the community to survive in this digital, knowledge-based economy.

Ballinger said LCCC’s role as an open-access institution has always been first and foremost to respond to the needs of Lorain County and provide opportunities for as many people as possible.

Citing LCCC statistics, Ballinger noted in the past 25 years, the number of Lorain County residents with an associate degree or higher grew from 19 percent in 1990 to 33 percent in 2015, including a 120 percent increase between 2000-2010. It’s impressive. However, Ballinger wants to see an improvement in those numbers because the jobs being created require additional training beyond high school.

It’s also concerning what the 2010 U.S. Census reveals about the number of Ohioans living in poverty older than the age of 25.

Data for that age group living in poverty show 29.8 percent have less than a high school diploma; 13.8 percent have a high school diploma; 11.6 percent have some college or an associate degree; and 4 percent have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Based on this data, education after high school improves the chances of not living in poverty.

Another eye opener is what payscale.com shows about Ohio’s median salary for people with post high school education.

It shows a median salary for those who have earned an associate degree in applied science of $50,567 a year; with an associate degree in science, that’s $51,726 a year; with an associate of arts degree, the median is $47,200 a year; and with a certificate in welding or medical assistant, the figure is $49,178 annually.

The Philanthropy Roundtable also has reported that seven out of 10 jobs today require some kind of training beyond high school, whether a certificate, occupational credential or a college degree.

David Dodson, president of MDC, a nonprofit based in Durham, N.C., was the keynote speaker for the Community Connection and gave a presentation called “Why Mobility Matters.”

MDC helps organizations and communities close the gaps that separate people from opportunity.

Dodson’s talk outlined the determining factors of intragenerational upward economic mobility.

According to statistics from the Equality of Opportunity Project, a child born in Lorain County has only a 5.1 percent chance of reaching the top levels of income distribution, which is startling.

Dodson said, “It’s in our American spirit and in the American dream that we shouldn’t be constrained by the circumstances of birth. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think a 5 percent chance of getting from the bottom to the top of the economic distribution is what any of us wants for a child born in this county, and that’s a significant problem.”

Dodson said earning a postsecondary degree is a lifechanging achievement for people in their ability to climb out of poverty.

Research from the Pew Research Center suggests the link between the level of education and poverty is clear.

With 35 percent of Lorain County residents achieving educational attainment of at least an associate degree, falling below statewide and national figures, LCCC is hoping to get to 65 percent attainment by 2025.

Ballinger said, “Every student’s dream matters. Because every student who comes to Lorain County Community College — we want them to earn that credential. We want them to earn that degree. Because educational attainment matters, because moving out of a lower socio-economic bracket matters, because moving this community forward matters.”

Residents can earn an education from LCCC, another community college, university or trade school.

The odds of not living in poverty are higher by having post education after high school.