Sonoma County Department of Health Services staff unveiled “The Portrait of Sonoma County” report to a group of over 100 Sonoma Valley nonprofit leaders, government officials, and interested residents on September 24 at the Sonoma Valley Grange.
The study showed that local nonprofits and community volunteers have an important role to play in bridging the gaps between the two dramatically different faces of Sonoma Valley.
First District Superintendent Susan Gorin kicked off the event, hosted by the Sonoma Valley Fund/Community Foundation Sonoma County and La Luz Center. The Health Department’s Health Policy, Planning and Evaluation Division Director Brian Vaughn presented the report’s findings of health, education and income indicators specific to Sonoma Valley. Based on a scale of one to ten, with ten being the highest, the study assigns a Human Development Index to each census tract that includes these factors: life expectancy at birth, educational degree attainment, school enrollment, and median earnings.
Although no surprise to most Valley residents, Vaughn reported that great disparities exist in Sonoma Valley, with Downtown Sonoma scoring a Human Development Index of 6.95 and the Fetters Springs/Agua Caliente West area scoring a 3.41.
One of the most significant findings of study is that only 21% of Sonoma Valley’s third graders read at grade level by third grade, marking it the lowest reading proficiency rate in Sonoma County. Specifically, 41% of the Valley’s white children read proficiently, while only 7% of Latino children read proficiently. Contributing to this low literacy rate is the fact that only 56% of 3-4 year old Sonoma Valley children are enrolled in any type of public or private preschool.
About 80% of all children who attend El Verano Elementary School, serving the Fetters Springs/Agua Caliente West area, come from socio-economically disadvantaged households. The Portrait also shows that median earnings in the Fetters Springs/Agua Caliente West area, which is 66.4% Latino, are $19,444 compared to $42,835 in Downtown Sonoma, which is 14.4% Latino. Vaughn summarized the report’s findings by stating, “The biggest driver is actually education. Education is the single biggest thing and the best thing we can do to reduce these disparities.”
Beth Brown, CEO, Community Foundation Sonoma County, facilitated a panel discussion following the presentation, highlighting suggestions for ways the community can address Sonoma Valley’s disparities to begin closing the existing prosperity gaps. Panelist Louann Carlomagno, superintendent of Sonoma Valley Unified School District, said, “We know that it’s those early learning experiences that are going to be a game-changer for kids…when they enter kindergarten, they need to be on a level playing field.”
She cited that the school district now offers several preschool programs and that the district is cooperating with the Sonoma Valley Education Foundation to offer AVANCE, a parent education, early childhood development, literacy and school readiness program for Latino parents of young children.
Panelist Juan Herdandez, La Luz Center executive director, urged audience members to “expand your definition of what health means…health is education, and education is health…health has a broader definition than what it used to mean.” Panelist Maite Iturri, El Verano Elementary School Principal, encouraged audience members to volunteer with local schools. She said, “We have a reading mentor program after school…we need mentors…it’s a great opportunity to help a first grader learn to read because they don’t always have someone at home to help them read in English…we would love to have some more volunteers.” She added that all elementary schools in the district offer similar opportunities to partner as reading mentors.
Local nonprofits and community volunteers have an important role to play in bridging the gaps between the two dramatically different faces of Sonoma Valley. The leadership of nonprofits can re-visit their mission statement to see how they can provide services in new ways to help improve the quality of life for all residents, especially our youngest, most at-risk neighbors. Nonprofit organizations can choose to implement evidence-based programs that have undergone extensive evaluation so we know they actually produce positive outcomes. And all Valley residents can begin to think of ways they can make an important difference in our community by volunteering for those organizations that are trying to level the playing field for all.
As Carlomango concluded, “Participate with an open mind and an open heart…be open to the possibilities of what you can contribute…there are so many different ways to participate and help.”
For more information about The Portrait of Sonoma County, visit http://www.measureofamerica.org/sonoma/.
Dr. B.J. Bischoff is the owner of Bischoff Performance Improvement Consulting, a Sonoma firm specializing in building the capacity of nonprofit organizations and public sector agencies to better serve their stakeholders. She assists her clients with strategic planning, training resulting in performance improvement, fund development, and community relations. She is Past President of Impact100 Sonoma and serves as a Sonoma County Board of Supervisors’ appointee to the Sonoma County Portfolio of Model Upstream Programs Review Committee. Contact her at bjbischoff@bjbischoff.com.
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