Selma is a high poverty community.  Our schools are high poverty schools.  What does this mean and why does it matter? What is poverty?

Did you know that the Census Bureau uses a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to determine who is in poverty?  If a family’s total income is less than the family’s threshold, then that family and every individual in it is considered in poverty.

A recent article in AL.com reported that 18.5 percent of Alabama residents live below the federal poverty line.  This percentage varies widely by county.  Not surprisingly, Black Belt counties, to include Dallas, have the highest rates of poverty while metro areas have the lowest. 

This same article listed Dallas County at about 35 percent poverty.  As a member of the Selma community and as an educator, I know that the rate in our schools is far greater than this statistic.  All of our schools are schoolwide Title I schools.

A Title I schoolwide program is a comprehensive program used to upgrade the complete educational program in a high poverty school thus raising academic opportunities for all the students. The schoolwide Title I program is available to schools with a student base where at least 40 percent come from low-income families.  Our schools far exceed this rate.

How does this poverty rate impact the education of our scholars?  One of the effects of severe poverty in America is that poor children enter school with a readiness gap, and this gap tends to grow as the children get older.  Poverty has been shown to reduce a child’s readiness for school because it leads to poor physical health and motor skills.  It also diminishes a child’s ability to concentrate and remember information.  Additionally, the effects of poverty reduce attentiveness, curiosity and even motivation.

Did you know that children and families in poverty also tend to experience stress and trauma?  Trauma is the exceptional experience in which overwhelming and dangerous events overpowers a person ’s capacity to cope.  Considering the violence in our community, it is not difficult to understand that many of our children experience trauma.

As superintendent and the instructional leader for Selma City Schools, I focus on improving academic outcomes for our scholars.  I also recognize that this is not possible without addressing the poverty and the resulting trauma experienced by many of our families.  On Wednesday, Dec. 5 from 9–11:30 a.m., our administrators and counselors will participate in a poverty simulation at R.B. Hudson.

This simulation is not a game, but a snapshot of what many of our families experience daily.  We have several slots available for community members.  Reach out to me if you would like to join us and learn more about why poverty matters.

For more information, email me at avis.williams@selmacityschools.org.