Half of Heckman’s argument
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
It’s about the labor market
It’s not only about the labor market
Cognitive skills are important
Non-cognitive skills are too
3 and 4 interact
Disparities in 3 and 4 emerge early
(corollary: skills beget skills)
7. Schools matter
8. Families also matter, and “the family”
is changing
Effects of character building
“While Perry’s impact on all three categories of
cognitive and character skills (IQ, academic motivation,
negative externalizing behavior) had statistically
significant effects on life outcomes, the most
permanent, life-changing and economically significant
effects came from the program’s enhancement of
character skills. For example, the impact on character
skills led to increases in monthly income and the
probability of employment and decreases in lifetime
arrests, felony arrests, violent crimes and tobacco use.”
Heckman, Pinto and Savelyev, AER (2013)
Video
DtM programs
Downtown Falcons
Football
Basketball
Cheerleading
Gymnastics
Downtown Academy
K-5 Christ-centered school
serving children of inner-city
Athens
Downtown Life
Trail Life
Jobs for Life
Downtown Academy
The mission of DtA is to provide
children of inner-city Athens an
excellent and rigorous Christcentered education that
builds knowledge, character, and
purpose.
Communities we serve
Some poverty data
Category
Athens Georgia
US
50% poverty rate
16.79
6.13
5.60
Poverty rate
28.27
12.99
12.38
150% poverty rate
39.29
21.60
20.93
% of families headed by
single females
25.78
19.87
17.30
Cenus tract 9
It’s not just the labor market
The lifetime probability
that a black male
high-school dropout
will go to prison
Is 68 percent.
“The family” is changing
The trouble with boys
“Most striking though are our findings regarding
gender differences in the non-cognitive returns to
parental inputs. Across all family structures, we
observe that boys’ likelihood to act out is sharply
reduced when faced with larger and better
parental
inputs.”
“One noteworthy finding is the widening of the
gender gap over time in disadvantaged
families.”
Bertrand and Pan, AEJA (2013)
One of our boys
Donterrius
God chooses the poor
Listen, my beloved brothers, has
not God chosen those who are poor
in the world to be rich in faith and
heirs of the kingdom, which he has
promised to those who love him?
James 2:5
First-year snapshot
•
•
•
•
•
•
Current enrollment = 17
Kindergarten/first grade: 9/8
Male/female: 16/1
13/17 have one adult in household
16/17 have household income < $20,000
Average number of children < 18: 3.3
Early returns
What (hopefully) comes next
• AY15 – AY18
– Grades 2-5
– Pre-K 4-3
• Afterschool program
• DtL expansion
• Permanent facility
What it costs
• DtM budgets
– FY13: $417,000
– FY14: $550,000
• Funding sources
– Tuition payments (< 10% of $6500)
– Corporate donors
– Individual donors
– Church partners
The value of godliness
Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly
myths. Rather train yourself for
godliness; for while bodily training is of
some value, godliness is of value in
every way, as it holds promise for the
present life and also for the life to come.
1 Tim 4:7-8