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Income mobility for poor children ranks average in Hall
Setting early career path increases chances of escaping poverty, experts say
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Fair Street International Baccalaureate World School’s Brayan Acevedo, 11, speaks on the subject of law enforcement to visitors Friday morning during career day at the school.

5 factors in income mobility

  • less class and racial segregation
  • lower levels of income inequality
  • better schools
  • lower rates of violent crime
  • larger share of two-parent households

Annual income differences for those who grew up poor

Hall County:
$330 more than average
Dawson County: $110 less than average
Gwinnett County: $1,580 less than average
Habersham County: $510 more than average
Jackson County: $540 less than average
Lumpkin County: $920 more than average
White County: $1,060 more than average

When it comes to the ability of a child raised in a poor family to move up the income ladder as he or she enters the working world, Hall County is a better place to live than 42 percent of all U.S. counties.

Hall ranks 1,053 out of 2,478 profiled in a recent study by Harvard University economists Raj Chetty and Nathaniel Hendren.

However, according to the study, children growing up in poor families in the Gainesville area would be better off financially if they started out in nearby White County.

Over the course of a full childhood (up to age 20 for the study’s analysis), a poor child living in White County will see an average annual income of $1,060, or about 4 percent, more as a young working adult compared with all U.S. counties profiled.

A poor child in Hall County, meanwhile, will see $330 more in average income as a young adult compared with those growing up in other counties.

That’s better than income predictions for poor children growing up in Gwinnett and Dawson counties, where average earnings are $1,580 and $110 less, respectively, compared with other American locales.

According to the study, five major factors account for a child’s ability to move up the income ladder in their lifetime: less class and racial segregation, lower levels of income inequality, better schools, lower rates of violent crime and a larger share of two-parent households.

Living costs also play a major role in income mobility for poor children, and Gainesville has many renters.

In fact, 65 percent of all homes in the city are occupied by renters, according to Gainesville Housing Manager Chris Davis.

The Harvard study pegs the median rent in Hall County at $693, compared with $557 in White, $588 in Lumpkin, $463 in Habersham and $531 in Jackson, $754 in Dawson and $958 in Gwinnett.

About 1 in 5 children nationwide lives in a family that earns less than the poverty threshold, according to U.S. Census figures.

And about 19 percent of all residents in Hall County, and 32 percent of residents within the Gainesville city limits, live below the poverty line.

The federal government currently places the poverty line for a family of four at an income of less than $24,250 a year.

But there are some caveats that should be considered when digesting the Harvard study’s data, said Tim Evans, vice president of economic development at the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce.

“The Harvard study paints an interesting picture, but sometimes being precise in big data calculations does not necessarily produce a more accurate picture given the regional nature of the way people work and live across county lines throughout Georgia,” he said.

At some point, all that research can produce diminishing returns, according to Evans. For example, the data cannot measure personal experience, whether public services and quality of life are better or worse in Hall, or if commuting costs for those who work in Hall but live elsewhere offset any income gains.

Additionally, Evans said, there may be more job opportunities in Hall, which has a diversified workforce in health care, manufacturing and food processing industries.

While the Harvard study may not tell the whole story, it does correspond to other recent findings on the academic success of poor children and their prospects for attaining middle- or upper-middle-class jobs.

For example, the Atlanta-based Southern Education Foundation reported in January that 51 percent of public school students across the nation were from low-income families in 2013, up from about 32 percent in 1989. The analysis quantifies low income based on the number of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunches.

Thirteen of 21 states with a majority low-income student population in public schools are located in the South, including Georgia, where 60 percent are low income, and all its neighboring states.

Will Campbell, principal of the Fair Street School in Gainesville, knows what it means to teach and mentor elementary-aged children from poorer families.

Campbell said between 85 and 90 percent of students at Fair Street qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

Stanford education professor Sean F. Reardon, who specializes in research on the impact poverty and inequality has on student success, found that the achievement gap between poor and wealthy students in K-12 was 30 to 40 percent higher for students born in 2001 versus those born 25 years earlier, according to a May 2013 report in Educational Leadership magazine.

Reardon pointed to many studies documenting how low-income students perform worse than their counterparts, whether on standardized tests, grades, graduation rates or college enrollment levels.

Reardon said the academic achievement gap between students from low-income families and those from richer households is largely determined by the time a child enters kindergarten. And that means that early education programs can help stem the tide. 

“It’s important what happens from 0 to 3 (years old) before they get to school,” Campbell said, adding that kids need to be exposed to books and basic thinking skills early in life.

Campbell said he can relate to his students in many ways. He grew up poor in a rough, violent neighborhood in North Philadelphia.

“There are opportunities for children in poverty to grow up and get an awesome job,” Campbell said, using himself as an example.

But improving education, and therefore driving up income for poor children, cannot be solved by simply throwing money at the problems, according to Campbell.

“From my personal experience, what every child deserves and needs is either parents, a mom and a dad, who are able to guide their children in the right direction …” or a mentor, he said. “I believe … we are resource rich. We don’t make excuses.”

According to Reardon, the growth of low-skill, low-wage jobs, such as in the service and hospitality industry as manufacturing labor has moved offshore in droves, makes education even more critical to the social and economic mobility of children raised in poor families.

“There are strong correlations between future income levels and educational and skills achievement, and that starts with early childhood development and reading,” Evans said. “Organizations like United Way work to address awareness of the importance of early childhood development with initiatives like the Read Learn Succeed effort.”

Campbell said better strategic planning and use of resources, as well as better training for teachers, can help improve academic success in students from poor families.

But he also points to a special project at Fair Street as another answer.

The school’s fifth-grade students held exhibitions last week showcasing what they had learned about careers that interest them, such as those in veterinary medicine, acting, computer coding, military service or law, teaching and public safety.

Student Jennifer Nunez, for instance, said she wants to be a 911 dispatcher when she grows up because she wants to help people in emergencies.

“I want to calm people down,” she said, understanding it’s a high-stress job.

Campbell said this career-focused project helps students learn much more about themselves in the process, and learn from one another, as well.

Students spent weeks on the projects, which were presented on display boards across the school on Friday. 

One common theme stood out: service to others. 

Whether it’s a desire to save lives as a paramedic, design websites or video games for people’s enjoyment, or teach social studies to the next generation of kids, one by one Fair Street students were motivated to assist others.

And that’s a lesson that can last a lifetime.

“The answer to our children getting out of poverty is talking about jobs now,” Campbell said.