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WASHINGTON -- A majority of public school students in the South now come from low-income families, but Virginia is bucking the trend, the Southern Education Foundation reported Tuesday.
One in three of the state's kindergarten through high school students came from poor families in the 2006-2007 school year, the report found, up 2 percent from six years earlier.
But that's lower than any of the other Southern states and the national average.
"For the first time in more than 40 years, the South is the only region in the nation where low-income children constitute a majority of public school students - 54 percent," the report said.
That's up from 46 percent in 2000.
"This is the most profound challenge to the South's economic future," said Steve Suitts, the report's author.
Low-income students tend to do poorly in school, make up a large percentage of high school drop outs and don't go to college, he said. Yet the economy depends on a highly educated workforce.
The percentage of low-income students from kindergarten through high school is up nationwide. In the 2006-2007 school year, 36 percent of students in both the Midwest and Northeast came from poor families. In the West, it was 47 percent.
Suitts said the low percentage of poor students in Virginia reflects the rapid growth in high-income jobs in the Washington, D.C., suburbs.
"There are some southside Virginia counties that have a majority of low-income families," Smitts said. "But the state as a whole has benefited by the growth of Northern Virginia."
The report defines low-income students as those who come from families who earn up to 185 percent of the official poverty level. For a family of three, that's less than $32,000 a year. The South comprises 15 states from Virginia to Oklahoma and Texas.
The report, by the 140-year-old foundation that promotes fairness and excellence in Southern education, attributes the rise in the South to four factors:
* Economic upheaval in mainstay industries - mining, textile, tobacco and furniture;
* An increase in immigrants from impoverished countries -- especially in Texas, Florida, Georgia and North Carolina;
* High birth rates among low-income black and Latino families;
* High regional poverty levels that persist despite Sun Belt development and anti-poverty programs.
"We have to figure out how to educate low-income kids if Southern states are going to have educated adults who can get prosperous jobs," Suitts said.
One in three of the state's kindergarten through high school students came from poor families in the 2006-2007 school year, the report found, up 2 percent from six years earlier.
But that's lower than any of the other Southern states and the national average.
"For the first time in more than 40 years, the South is the only region in the nation where low-income children constitute a majority of public school students - 54 percent," the report said.
That's up from 46 percent in 2000.
"This is the most profound challenge to the South's economic future," said Steve Suitts, the report's author.
Low-income students tend to do poorly in school, make up a large percentage of high school drop outs and don't go to college, he said. Yet the economy depends on a highly educated workforce.
The percentage of low-income students from kindergarten through high school is up nationwide. In the 2006-2007 school year, 36 percent of students in both the Midwest and Northeast came from poor families. In the West, it was 47 percent.
Suitts said the low percentage of poor students in Virginia reflects the rapid growth in high-income jobs in the Washington, D.C., suburbs.
"There are some southside Virginia counties that have a majority of low-income families," Smitts said. "But the state as a whole has benefited by the growth of Northern Virginia."
The report defines low-income students as those who come from families who earn up to 185 percent of the official poverty level. For a family of three, that's less than $32,000 a year. The South comprises 15 states from Virginia to Oklahoma and Texas.
The report, by the 140-year-old foundation that promotes fairness and excellence in Southern education, attributes the rise in the South to four factors:
* Economic upheaval in mainstay industries - mining, textile, tobacco and furniture;
* An increase in immigrants from impoverished countries -- especially in Texas, Florida, Georgia and North Carolina;
* High birth rates among low-income black and Latino families;
* High regional poverty levels that persist despite Sun Belt development and anti-poverty programs.
"We have to figure out how to educate low-income kids if Southern states are going to have educated adults who can get prosperous jobs," Suitts said.