Affordable Housing

PROBLEM:
Evansville lacks clean, safe, energy efficient, affordable housing.
DATA:

• 15,568 of our neighbors pay more than 30% of their monthly income just on housing (rent & utilities)
• 7,401 of our neighbors pay more than 50% of their monthly income just on housing (rent & utilities)
• Affordable housing availability currently stands at 98.8% occupied
• Most Common Housing Problems
  Affordability * Substandard Living Conditions * Availability

ALARMING NEWS
2023 Aurora Homeless Count: 500+. This is a 145+ INCREASE from the previous year
SOLUTION:
Advocating for an ordinance that would create permanent funding for the Affordable Housing Trust Fund.

Early Childhood Reading

PROBLEM:
67% of the 3rd graders in EVSC are not reading proficiently
DATA:

• Only 33% of local 3rd graders are proficient in reading comprehension.
• Curriculum used for decades adapted what is called “cueing” which removed phonics from reading.
• Large amounts of organized money at the Federal Level lobbied to push the cueing method of teaching reading.
• Reading scores nationwide have plummeted over the past 2 decades
• There is a scientifically proven and accepted method of teaching children to read called the Science of Reading.
• Local teachers are not being provided adequate professional development training or the tools they need to help our students succeed.
• December 2023 Indiana passed a law requiring all public schools in the state of Indiana to adopt the Science of Reading as their curriculum.

Solution

• Commitment from EVSC Administrators to adopt the Science of Reading.
• Commitment from EVSC Administration to provide our teachers with all of the professional development and tools they need to fully implement Science of Reading.