© 2024 Iowa Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

How Education Fits Into the Poverty Trap

USDA Photo by Bob Nichols
Free and reduced lunch being served as part of the National School Lunch Program, a federally assisted meal program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service to provide food and nutrition to students living in poverty.

The poverty rate of black Iowans is more than three times that of whites. For Hispanics, it is more than twice the poverty rate of whites.

Today on River to River, we look into this disparity by exploring how education fits into the cycle of poverty. We look to Iowa City, where there are large differences in student population between schools, and find out what steps the district is taking to achieve a better socioeconomic balance of students. We also examine other barriers to a child's education, how low educational achievement can lead to low income, and how the poverty trap continues through generations.

Ben Kieffer is the host of IPR's River to River