Submitted by Michael Ammann,
President Solano Economic Development Corporation
I’m certain you have heard this: “What you sow, is what you reap.”
It’s probably impossible to find anyone who would disagree with this simple sentence, but when it comes to a community’s needs it takes a long time to bring about changes, and for many it’s just too hard to make long term commitments.
Solano Economic Development Corporation through its long term marketing plans seeks to improve the economic opportunities for the residents who call Solano their home.
“Under the theme “Plant Your Business in Solano County,” EDC recognizes that the future needs a well educated workforce. We cannot forget that what we accomplish today can benefit our communities in the years ahead.
We strive for a youth force that is healthy, active, supported, educated and either a high school graduate or attending a college or university. That is one of the critical building blocks for achieving the mission of a stronger economy with better paying jobs.
There’s no quick payoff for a well educated workforce. So, it’s so easy to forget that what we “sow” today is what we “reap” tomorrow.
To provide our young people with the best opportunities for a good, solid education it takes more than just the dedication of teachers in the classroom. It takes a community—all of us to be involved and provide the support and encouragement it takes to achieve the long term goal of taking a 4-year-old from preschool through high school.
Solano County has taken huge steps in the past five years to create more involvement. It’s done through parents and community leaders who band together to support schools-both emotionally and through fund raising to assure kids have uniforms, arts and crafts classes, supplies, and money for school outings.
It’s the shadowing programs of our service organizations which allow a student to spend time with an adult in office or industrial setting.
It’s all those moms who carpool, or the dads who volunteer evenings and weekends.
And, how about the seniors who give them time, just to help one student improve their reading skills.
These are the seeds that will help our education system to grow the right way, and years from now our harvest will be bountiful. We just have to stay the course.
Does all of this effort going on in Solano County go unnoticed? No. The America’s Promise Alliance has recognized Solano County four times for its efforts to bring together stakeholders and tackle key issues confronting our youth.
This is quite an honor, and few areas of the nation have been recognized as one of the “100 Best Communities for Young People.” And, Solano is the only community in California to receive that honor four times.
Right now, somewhere in Solano County, one of these ground-breaking community youth programs is getting underway.
Perhaps it’s the Project WHAT (We’re Here and Talking) that reaches out to the children of incarcerated parents. They face high risk for family dislocation and poverty. The Soroptimists provided funding along with First 5 Solano for the program, providing funding for kid-friendly visiting rooms at the two state prisons in Solano, and working with Barnes and Noble to collect and distribute 1,000 books to these children of prisoners.
Then, there’s the Solano Children’s Alliance that brings together stakeholders from government, schools, health, nonprofits and juvenile justice. The goal is to integrate services for children and families, and leverage additional funds for youth programs.
And, the Solano Coalition for Better Health has its program that aims to insure every child. And it has consistently had success rates above 90 percent.
The county also has a high proportion of fast food restaurants, and this has contributed to obesity. New innovative programs, like the “Healthy Cooking with Kids” program in Benicia schools, allowing students to learn healthy nutrition habits, cooking and testing of healthy foods.
For an example of a program to increase a student’s job opportunities, Vallejo stands out. Vallejo City Unified School District has created career academies in its three high schools in the fields of biotechnology, engineering, hospitality, media and public service. Data is just coming in but these programs are already showing a promise of increased attendance and fewer drop outs.
Complementing these new academies is UC Berkeley's Lawrence Hall of Science plans to open a new satellite center May 5 in Vallejo in an effort to provide more science education directly to communities in Solano County. Getting kids into science early is key to supporting high wage jobs like the rapidly growing life science cluster who’s wages averaged $78,300 in 2006.
The point to remember is that we don’t want to be discouraged in the short run. We must keep our eyes on the goal – a bountiful harvest of high school graduates that will provide for a growing educated work force for tomorrow.
While achievement of our goal is long term, it can be measured annually-- the number of high school dropouts, the number of college students, youth crime rates, health statistics.
Sometimes it means one step forward and two back, but never giving in.
As Winston Churchill said in 1941, speaking at Harrow School in England: “Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never.”
# # # #
