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Community Overview Dubuque, Iowa takes great pride in our quality educational system. Public and private preschools, and programs like Head Start and Parents as Teachers, provide options for educating our young people. Two K-12 school systems—Dubuque Community School District (DCSD) and Holy Family Catholic Schools (HFCS)—serve the majority of the community’s 12,337 students. In addition to high schools, middle schools and elementary schools, DCSD offers an alternative program that provides multiple pathways to graduation and HFCS offers five preschools and a Spanish Immersion School. DCSD and HFCS have the same calendar and collaboratively share staff, instructional materials, transportation, communication, and other support services. Dubuque is also home to numerous post-secondary institutions offering liberal arts degrees, professional programs, graduate degrees, associate degrees, and certification and diploma programs, making it a truly education-infused environment. Like many Midwestern cities, Dubuque has experienced a demographic shift and schools in particular are becoming more diverse. While the number of young people age nine and under represents just 12% of the population, this age group has greater diversity than the rest of the community: 82% white, 8% black, 5% Hispanic/Latino, and 2.6% other. Dubuque’s poverty rate has increased, including child poverty. Dubuque’s child poverty rate is 13% (vs. 15.6% statewide and 21.6% nationally); for young people under 5 it is 20.6% (vs. 19.6% statewide and 23.0% nationally). The effects of childhood poverty on learning and reading achievement are well documented. To help address these challenges, the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque (CFGD) established Every Child/Every Promise (ECEP) in 2006 to engage the community in delivering the Five Promises: Safe Places, Caring Adults, Healthy Start, Effective Education and Opportunities to Serve Others. Today, ECEP facilitates the 3rd Grade Reading Coalition, which is already comprised of 17 agencies, with many more community members as advisors and participants. Over 100 people also participated in a workshop to help shape the Community Solutions Action Plan (CSAP), a strategy to achieve collective impact in three areas: community, families, and policy. Based on our track record of successfully reimagining our city through community partnerships, we are confident we can find solutions that move 3rd Grade Reading Achievement from good to great in our community and become a model for other communities. The 3rd Grade Reading Coalition members: Alliant Energy Carnegie Stout Public Library Clarke University City of Dubuque Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque Crescent Community Health Center Dubuque Area Chamber of Commerce Dubuque Community School District Dubuque Community School District Foundation Dubuque County Early Childhood Dubuque Racing Association Mystique Casino Diamond Jo Casino Every Child/Every Promise Four Oaks: Parents as Teachers Greater Dubuque Development Corporation Holy Family Schools Iowa State University Extension & Outreach Loras College Multicultural Family Center Northeast Iowa Community College Operation New View: Head Start University of Dubuque St. Mark Community Center 3rd Grade Reading Community Solutions Action Plan Executive Summary | Dubuque, Iowa | Page 1
The Problem The biggest challenge facing our community is disproportionate achievement rates of minority students and students in poverty. While overall our students are achieving at a high level, a disproportionate rate of minority students are entitled to Special Education services: 11.45% black, 2.37% Hispanic, and 2.72% multi-racial in 2011-12. Whether we look at reading achievement, school attendance, or school readiness, the story is the same. In addition, while many Dubuque students demonstrate success in 3rd Grade Reading Achievement based on the Basic Reading Inventory, of the 14% of students not meeting 3rd grade reading targets, half (7%) are entitled. The remaining 3rd grade students are overwhelmingly black, male and receive free and reduced lunch services. Dubuque students arrive at kindergarten ready to learn and data shows our four-year old preschool is a major factor in driving these school readiness rates. However, the program is at risk due to state funding challenges and a disproportionate number of students from at-risk populations are still not school-ready by age 5. Similarly, while the Average Daily Attendance (ADA) rate in our schools is 95%, the opportunity remains to reach the most at-risk students who are not attending at rates that promote achievement. We need to improve our attendance data. Improving summer learning opportunities may be our community’s most significant opportunity. While we have an abundance of summer activities for our young people, there is little coordination among these activities and a significant need to incorporate learning opportunities into these programs to support the school curriculum. We can also impact each of these challenges with broader strategies including improved coordination of efforts and resources, and aligning provided and proposed services with a Collective Impact model. Finally, we must consider how our policies can better ensure: • More proportionate density of poverty and minorities within schools • Improved access to summer learning opportunities for all young people • An engaged health community that provides lead-testing and wellness care • High attendance standards for kindergarten and four-year-old preschool • Employer awareness of how policies affect parents’ abilities to support children • Issues like attendance are addressed in community-based organization programming • School attendance policies are fair and consistently enforced district-wide. Our goal is to find models to help impact the most vulnerable students while building on current success. We will build on our strong history of partnerships, collaboration, and innovation to move our 3rd Grade Reading Achievement from good to great. 3rd Grade Reading Community Solutions Action Plan Executive Summary | Dubuque, Iowa | Page 2
Page 1: 3rd Grade Reading Community Solutio
Page 5 and 6: School Attendance Dubuque’s Visio
Page 7 and 8: School Readiness Dubuque’s Vision
Page 9: In July 2012, based on this Communi

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