Demographics Case

Cumberland County is a small school district, with fewer than 980 total students and steadily declining over the last decade. We are located in a rural, impoverished community with a 96% Caucasian population. Our Free/Reduced Lunch rate is 76%. There is little to no industry here, with those working having to travel several miles to find substantial employment. The 2006-2010 income per capita (for 12 months) was $15,025 (US Census Bureau , 2012). The median household income (2006-2010) was $28,135 (US Census Bureau , 2012). . 44.4% of children between the ages of 5 and 17 are living below the poverty level (in the past 12 months) (US Census Bureau , 2012). Only 70% of those 25 and over are high school graduates (compared with 81% for the state), and only 14% have associate degrees or higher (KIDS COUNT, 2012). Education is generally not valued by many parents of our students. In addition, our home school population is now over 60. In the past 3 years, we have also had a high turnover in school administration, and newer ideas are taking hold slowly, especially in the past 15 months or so. The nearest community college is 20 miles away and the nearest college campus is 40 miles away. Outside the opportunities that students have at school, there is very little encouragement/advertisement to promote going on to college or opportunities beyond high school. With only 7.9% of our community obtaining a bachelor’s degree or higher and 40.1% being high school drop outs (ages 18 and up), advocates for higher education can be difficult to locate in the community.

The mission statement states that the district is “committed to preparing children to achieve success in an ever-changing world”. The vision calls for students to transition successfully into adulthood and be productive citizens. The belief statements start with the goal of all students being successful, encourages students to challenge themselves, and the utilization of resources to