Current Data and Recent Trends in the Well-being of Children and Youth in the Greater Washington Region.
The Greater Washington region is home to 1.6 million children and young people. Yet, few places in America have such great disparities in young people’s health, education, family income and wealth, and opportunity. This report provides a broad overview of how children and youth are faring in many key indicators of well-being across the nine jurisdictions that comprise the Greater Washington region.
As the region becomes more diverse, it is increasingly important to examine whether young people from different backgrounds thrive and progress at similar rates.
Many students are not gaining the competencies schools intend to foster, as schools rarely are designed to meet the needs of all students and infrequently offer rigorous and relevant learning experiences that prepare students for postsecondary success.
Well-being requires a wholistic perspective, where health and social, emotional and academic development are interdependent.