If asked, what percent of Americans would say education is important to them, or is important to the success of individuals in the U.S. Virgin Islands?

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kidsfirststj asks:

I run a non profit that supports education in the US Virgin Islands and have a question. We run a program whereby a homeowner who rents his home directs 2% of the income to our non-profit. In return he gets to promote to his renter that by selecting his home (and at no cost to the renter) they are supporting education on the island of St. John. It creates an incentive for the renter to pick that home while allowing the owner to differentiate his property and do something positive for the community.

To promote this to homeowners I need a piece of information: if asked, what percent of Americans would say education is important to them or is important to the success of individuals of our country?

Thanks,
Bruce Claflin President
Kids First! St. John, USVI

In Topics: School and Academics, Worldwide education issues

> 60 days ago

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Candace_Lindemann

Jun 29, 2009

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What the Expert Says:

Hello, Mr. Claffin,

What an innovative idea!

Education is something in which the entire community must invest. And the benefits are amazing--education has the power to reduce crime, increase investment, and raise productivity. Education has a high correlation with increased earning potential in the United States and most U.S. citizens view education as an important issue. Most importantly to me as an educator, schooling sends a message to young people that they are important and an essential part of our society.

You may find some great supporting information both about the importance placed on education and support for charitable causes in: Americans Prefer Charities and Corporations to Work Together (http://www.afpnet.org/ka/ka-3.cfm?folder_id=2345&content_item_id=20990):

" 89 percent of Americans want nonprofits and corporations to work together, and that 76 percent believe that these partnerships will result in a more positive image of the charitable organization.

"Moreover, a large percentage of respondents indicated that if they heard about a particular corporation-charity partnership, they would be more likely to:

   * Buy a product that supports the charity (79 percent)
   * Tell a friend about the charity (76 percent)
   * Give money to the charity (70 percent)

"Education, Health, Environment Top List of Concerns

"In 1993, crimes and homelessness were the top issues that Americans wanted to see addressed. However, according to the Cone survey, approximately 80 percent of respondents now consider education, health and the environment the most important issues that charities should be addressing.

"What education issues are most important? Respondents felt workforce training (80 percent) as the most important education issue, followed by literacy (74 percent), student scholarships (73 percent), math and science (72 percent), computer literacy (68 percent) and teacher recruitment and retention (60 percent)."

Also, from http://www.highereducation.org/news/news_053107.shtml

"Public Agenda and the National Center have tracked public attitudes toward higher education since 1993. Their new report — 'Squeeze Play: How Parents and the Public Look at Higher Education Today' — reveals that a record level of Americans, 50 percent, now [2007] say that a college education is necessary for success in the workplace, compared with 31 percent in 2000."

More supporting links are found in the answer below, by "dgraab".

Best of luck with your program!

---
Candace Lindemann, Ed.M. - JustAsk Expert
Educational Consultant and Writer
http://CandaceLindemann.com

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Additional Answers (2)

dgraab , Parent writes:

Hi Bruce, Sounds like an interesting program that you're running -- I hope it ultimately provides a significant amount of financial support and/or much-needed resources for the local public schools in your area.

To answer your question, I'm an American who values education very much. It was important to me as a child, and it remains important to me as an adult and parent. I also think access to education, and support for education, is important everywhere -- not just in my state, country or continent. From my perspective, education is a top 5 priority for any society.

My personal opinions aside, here are some related polls and studies you may want to take a look at:

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0DXK/is_1_19/ai_84429931/

http://www1.astd.org/Blog/post/Kaplan-Despite-US-Economy-Americans-Still-See-Value-to-Higher-Ed.aspx

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/03/political_ideology.html

http://www.hoover.org/publications/ednext/8769517.html

http://chronicle.uchicago.edu/961024/americans.shtml

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/polls/wat/archive/wat050800.htm

You might also want to take a look at this JustAsk question:
http://www.education.com/question/parents-addressed-education-system/

I hope these resources are helpful to you and that others will also chime in with their opinions and insights.

Resources:

http://www.education.com/topic/current-education-issues/

> 60 days ago

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Loddie1 , Parent writes:

Education is extremely important here in the United States. However, there are a lot of misconceptions in theories and practices on what works and does not. Our public schooled system has been reformed to the point where the focus is mainly math and reading. Education should encompass the whole being, and of course some children can't get this with the public model. Some children attend private schools and some our homeschooled. The homeschooling option has grown over the years, so one might assume that education is extremely important to these families. In either case, every citizen should have this right to be educated. The society in which she or he lives in has to provide this in order for that society to live in peace and excel. We still need doctors to figure out cancer, we still need astronomers to travel to an unknown planet, we need cooks, we need teachers, etc...
Education is very important here in the states.

> 60 days ago

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