Join Us for the First in Our Virtual Community Connection Series
August 28, 2020
Community Schools Draw on Partnership and Preparation for a Strong Start to the Year
September 21, 2020
Did you know that 42 separate federal programs rely on an accurate census count? Or that Baltimore stands to lose $18,000 for every resident not counted in Census 2020? Strong City is working with the Baltimore City Planning Department’s Complete Count Committee to make sure our city gets every dollar it deserves, including critical funding for education programs. As this chart shows, Title I Grants for schools serving low-income populations, Pell Grants for college, special education funding, school lunches, and more all depend on an accurate count.
According to an article in Education Votes, a publication of the National Education Association, “The importance of the U.S. Census to the well-being of children and the strength of their public schools cannot be overstated. … These funds help schools reduce class sizes, hire specialists, continuously bolster teacher quality, offer preschool to low-income families, and ensure that hungry students can get breakfast or lunch to help them pay attention in class.”
What can you do to help?
The first step is to make sure you’ve filled out your own census by calling 844-330-2020 or going to my2020census.gov.
Next, be an ambassador for the census in your community. Encourage friends, family members, co-workers and neighbors to complete their census — 10 questions that can be answered in 10 minutes. Post about the census on social media. If people try to tell you the census “doesn’t matter” or “doesn’t help people like me,” use the above list to name specific programs that rely on an accurate census count. Some of the naysayers might be surprised.
