22 Mar 2010
Focus on How the Census Affects Schools and Communities
DALLAS—As the April 1 deadline approaches for completing and returning U.S. Census forms by mail, students and staff of Dallas ISD are making a final push to get the word out about the importance of being counted in the census process.
Through a series of census tours and school presentations, district and census staff have joined together to inform parents and community members about how the census affects schools and communities.
Students are doing their part to help create census awareness by participating in a U.S. Census poster contest. Nearly 90 district schools signed on to take part in the competition. The winners of the poster contest will be announced Friday, April 9, at 10 a.m., at the Administration Building, 3700 Ross Ave. The contest is sponsored by the Dallas ISD Social Studies Department and the U.S. Census Bureau.
Information from the census helps determine a number of things that are important to communities, like how more than $400 billion in federal funds are distributed each year for hospitals; job training centers; senior centers; bridges, tunnels and other public works projects.
More importantly for school districts, the information collected by the census is used to shape school budgets and build facilities. Census data affect distribution of Title I, special education funding, college loan programs and help determine where to build schools and child care centers.
For more information on the U.S. Census, go to www.census.gov.
"Dallas ISD is pioneering a college readiness warning system and we are proud to lend our support to it," in announcing a $3.77 million grant.