Cradle to Career Alliance holds special event

A group of community leaders, school officials, families and non-profit organizations have teamed up to share a community report card on education in Boone County.

The group calls themselves the Cradle to Career Alliance of Boone County, and they held a luncheon Monday at Stoney Creek Hotel & Conference Center.

They are hoping to put Boone County students on a path to lifelong success, by aligning the efforts of schools and community organizations to reduce educational disparities.

The group reports the number of students in public schools around the county who went on to enroll in a four-year college was above last year’s state average.

Members say action teams will help improve math and reading skills for students in Columbia before the third grade. But there was a gap in information needed to draw comparisons and conclusions among rural school districts.

For those in the Columbia public school district, the report found underrepresented students have hardships throughout their education, if there are not focused interventions. It also found white students and those who pay for lunch scored consistently in the highest percentiles.