Educational Needs Index

Here's a site that tracks Educational Needs.
Yakima Country ranks 59th (from the bottom) out of 2071 overall and 32nd in Education in particular. (And last year we were 100th. That's right, we've gotten worse. Jeez.) The next county in Washington is 291, then 423.

My first reaction: I've got to get out of this place. My second reaction: Well, if I want to make a difference, this is the place to be.

In any case, it definitely shows us why it's critical to understand Angela Whitiker's situation. We're living in one of the poorest, least educated places in the country and it's up to us to figure out a way to change this.

The three factors drive the ENI model and the variables that make up each factor are:
Educational Factor – Indicators assess the educational capacity of a region’s adult population. Indicators measure the percent of the population with a high school degree, associate’s degree, and bachelor’s degree, and a measure of the educational attainment gap between younger and older members of the workforce.

Economic Factor - Indicators in this category assess the degree of economic challenges facing counties. Indicators measure the percent of population in poverty, unemployment rates, the existing earnings capacity of residents, and dependence upon manufacturing and extraction jobs.
Population Factor – Indicators assess the present population growth issues facing the county and potential need for increased emphasis on human capital development to address changing demographics. Indicators measure recent and project population growth, population aged 19 and younger as a percent of the total population, population aged 20-44, and the relative size of an area’s at-risk minority population (African-Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans).