Census in Schools Week

This week, San Diegans began receiving information about the U.S. Census in their mailboxes. In support of this important effort, the Board of Education adopted a resolution on Jan. 12, 2010, and designated the week of March 22-26 as “Census in Schools Week.” All district employees and families are encouraged to complete and return their census questionnaire by April 1. Why is the census so important? California could lose billions of dollars in federal funding and approximately $3,000 a year for each Californian not counted in the 2010 Census. These funds go toward programs such as education, MediCal, child care, transportation and public safety. On a local level, census data help guide planning decisions, such as the placement of schools, hospitals, roads and job training centers. California could also lose a congressional seat for the first time in its history.
San Diego County is the 11th Hard-To-Count place in the nation and in particular, the children of San Diego are significantly undercounted. The California Census School-Based Outreach program has been developed to help school districts get the word out to parents and students about the Census. Census-related lesson plans, parent letters, toolkits, and other activities have been developed and can be found online at http://www.californiacompletecount.org/. For more information on Census in Schools Week, please contact Lisa Sheldon at (619) 725-7265 or lsheldo1@sandi.net. For more US Census information, visit http://www.2010.census.gov/.

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