Ensuring Northern Kentucky youth are "Ready for the Future"

 

"We are honored that Northern Kentucky has been able to serve as the national pilot site for this poll," said Marianne Schmidt-Hurtt, Senior Vice President, PNC Bank and Chair, NKYEC Board of Directors. "We are focused on improving educational outcomes and these results will help us ensure that our youth are prepared and ready for the future." 

 

Gallup's research has shown that hope, engagement and well-being are key factors that drive future employment, retention, grades and achievement scores. Hope drives attendance, credits earned, and GPA of high school students; predicts GPA and retention in college; and is a more robust predictor of college success than are high school GPA, SAT and ACT scores. Engagement distinguishes between high performing and low-performing schools and wellbeing tells us how our students are doing today and predicts their success in the future.

 

"Many communities invest resources in tracking the skills and behaviors of their students to help drive success, but few are able to dig deeper to capture the attitudes and perceptions of students that drive performance," said Polly Lusk Page, Executive Director, NKYEC. "Even among those who have such data, too few are using it and translating it into action."

 

In Northern Kentucky, local school districts are using these data to help youth plan for their future and build both school and community-based support systems for our students. "We can't ignore our students' thoughts and feelings," said Kathy Burkhardt, Superintendent, Erlanger-Elsmere Schools. "We have been treating the symptoms, such as test scores and grade point averages, but not the causes, such as feeling hopeless about the future, not feeling engaged or not having a strong support system in place to help them reach their goals."
 

The Gallup Student Poll gives young people a voice to convey their daily experiences and aspirations for the future. Poll data can facilitate new conversations and solutions that lead to community engagement and school and student success. To help begin these conversations in Northern Kentucky, NKYEC has invited national youth development expert Karen Pittman to be the keynote speaker at their Fall Council Meeting on September 21. Ms. Pittman is the President and CEO of the Forum for Youth Investment and will share what it means for the entire community to take ownership in ensuring that all children, youth and young adults are "Ready by 21" and "Ready for the Future".

 

"The conversation about the future of American youth starts with a shared understanding of hope, engagement and wellbeing," said Karen Pittman. "When local leaders, schools, businesses and community partners work together, communities can prepare a competitive workforce, strengthen the network of supports for all young people, support families and help all young people realize their full potential." 

 

"The Northern Kentucky community must send a clear message to our youth that we have high expectations for their future," said Jim Votruba, President, Northern Kentucky University. "When we help students overcome obstacles and plan for their future, they will not only be more successful in school, they will be more successful in life."

 

"If our community is going to focus on creating jobs and improving the economy, it is imperative that we connect business and education," said Brent Cooper, President of C-Forward, Inc. and current Chair of the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce. "Hopeful, engaged and thriving youth will grow up to be more productive employees and by investing in their futures we help build the workforce of tomorrow."

 

According to Shane Lopez, Ph.D., Senior Scientist and research director for Gallup, 20 years of field research demonstrate that more hopeful students do better in school and life than less hopeful students. Helping students become more hopeful can improve their ability to learn as well as make them more resilient for future challenges. 

 

"What would Northern Kentucky look like if all youth were hopeful?" asked Ms. Page. "At the Council, we believe in the power of these data to galvanize school, business and community partners to take action on behalf of our youth in Northern Kentucky. By working together with our partners to align practice and leverage resources, we can implement strategies that positively affect the lives of our youth." 

 

The enhanced version of the Gallup Student Poll was developed with support from the Ready by 21 National Partnership. NKYEC is serving as the lead agency for coordination and administration of the two-year pilot with support from the United Way of Greater Cincinnati and Vision 2015. Last spring, the poll was administered in 48 schools representing 13 Northern Kentucky public school districts, with more than 20,000 students in grades 5 through 12 participating in the poll.

More information regarding the Gallup Student Poll can be found at gallupstudentpoll.com.

Learn more at nkyec.org.