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XII. Positive Development Through the Life Stages

Childhood Development

1. Early Development

 

Early emotional and mental development affects how well later learning takes place. Cortland County is fortunate to have an array of daycare providers and a Head Start program that recognize the importance of such early childhood investment. Unfortunately there is always a waiting list for low-income families to receive day care subsidies.

 

Dr. Richard Kendrick’s Methods of Social Research class surveyed potential daycare users in the fall of 2002. The 678 respondents reported the average weekly cost for day care, per child was $70.

 

• 39% obtained care at someone else’s house;

• 35% in their own house provided by a caregiver;

• 32% reported in-home care by spouse and

• 24% used a licensed daycare center.

 

Those with higher incomes tended to use licensed day care centers more. Convenience, cost and location were the top 3 considerations in choosing daycare. Also noteworthy from the survey is that 36% would use a day care center on Saturday due to work responsibilities and 17% on Sundays. Twenty-three percent of those surveyed worked a second or third shift and said that they could use day care at those times.

2. State Education Report Cards

The state’s annual school report cards show a long-term trend of more students passing high school exams, but also disappointing graduation rates, especially among minority students. For the class of 2004, nearly one-third of the class did not graduate and for African American and Hispanic youth, 60% did not graduate.

 

Ninety-two percent of students in the state passed all five of the state Regents exams required to graduate. However, the 92% success rate is a bit deceptive because not 100% of students qualify to even take the exams. Only 32% of the 2002 graduating class left school qualified to apply to college.

 

Looking at Cortland County school dropout rates (Table PD-9), it appears that only 2.9% of students dropped out. That percent represents nearly 70 Cortland students dropping out for the year. But, if we follow one class for four years, from grade 9 through 12, you will find we have a cumulative effect that is closer to the statewide 32% drop out rate.

3. Higher Education

The proportion of county residents with a bachelor’s degree is only 70% of the state average, with that percent remaining relatively stagnant between 1990 and 2000.

4. Cortland Area Communities That Care (CACTC)

CACTC, the largest ever community effort on behalf of children and families, is an operating system based on prevention science and promoting youth development. It is a method to organize a community with the goal of developing a comprehensive, countywide plan to address prevention of adolescent problem behaviors. This coalition of community energies consists of representatives from over thirty youth-serving agencies, the college and all of the county schools.

 

In the fall of 2002, CACTC surveyed 2,081 Cortland County students in grades 6,8,10 and 12 to identify the levels of risk factors related to problem behaviors such as alcohol, tobacco and drug use, and to identify protective factors that help guard against those behaviors. The information obtained was used to develop a comprehensive, plan to prevent adolescent problem behaviors and to promote positive youth development throughout Cortland County.

 

In July 2005, CACTC was awarded a $236,400 grant to prevent and minimize alcohol and drug use among youth 18 to 25 years of age. In October 2005 CACTC received a 5-year grant ($99,700 per year) from SAMSHA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration). Since its inception in 2002, CACTC’s community planning process has included:

 

• Training of key leaders and community board members

• Identification/assessment of community needs, assets, programs and services

• Survey of Youth

• Identification of systems change strategies

• Development of comprehensive plan

• Implementation of several curricula and programs with evaluations on-going

5. Family Reading Partnership

This is a newly formed coalition of individuals, businesses, schools, libraries and other organizations who have joined forces to “create a culture of literacy” by promoting family reading practices throughout our community. National studies indicate that only 39% of parents read to their children on a regular basis. In Cortland it is estimated that 30 - 35% of children have had few or no experiences with books at home when they first enter a classroom. Programs have been initiated to create a culture of literacy from birth:

 

Come Back to Cortland

A Syracuse University survey of 2300 students at 25 colleges in upstate counties, including Cortland, revealed that 41% plan to leave the state upon graduation. Despite the presence of several world-class colleges in central NY, a brain drain of graduates occurs each June. The number of persons with college degrees in Cortland remained essentially unchanged between the 1990 and 2000. Efforts are underway in Cortland to promote students investment in the community through more college internships and community interaction with students.

Crime in Schools

Despite high profile shootings in schools the national crime rate fell sharply over the decade. According to a December 2004 report from the Justice Department and the Department of Education, school crime fell 50% between 1992 and 2002. Most of the homicides that did occur among young people did not occur at school. However the report warned that bullying, violent crime, drinking and drugs remain serious problems at many schools; it found that 659,000 students had been victims of violent crimes, including rape, robbery and aggravated assault while at school in 2002. In 2003, students at 20 % of public schools reported that their school had experienced one or more serious violent crimes, 7 % of students had been bullied while at school, and 21 % reported the presence of gangs in their schools.

 

Drug and alcohol use is also a concern with 5% of high school students reporting having had a drink on school property in the last 30 days and 29% had been approached with offers to give or sell them illegal drugs on school grounds in 2003.

 

The CACTC survey in 2002 also measured the actual prevalence of drug use, violence and other anti-social behaviors among Cortland County students. Overall, 14.4% of Cortland students surveyed reported having been drunk or high at school and nearly 11% had “attacked someone with intent to harm”. By grade level:

 

Adult Development

Life long learning is fostered in a multitude of ways in Cortland County. SUNY Cortland, BOCES, and Tompkins Cortland Community College provide formal opportunities for continuing education. Seniors can audit college classes at no charge and each month, the SUNY College Round Table provides stimulating dialogue about the community. The Area Agency on Aging offers courses on a wide variety of topics. Several, if not all, school districts offer various educational programs for parents and other adults within their communities.

 

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