The president of a public education advocacy firm says school districts need to better engage the whole community if they hope to see improvements.
Jamie Vollmer says corporations often focus all their energy on working more with parents, but neglect those who do not have children in school.
He says the support of that demographic is important for all schools to thrive.
“When schools are supported aggressively in a community and student success begins to rise, the crime rate in that community falls, property values increase," he said. "It's not just that we need to the schools because it's the right thing to do for kids, it's the right thing to do for us.”
He says only about 25-percent has children in schools and the others are sometimes left out of conversations on education.
Vollmer believes engaging these people will provide everyone with a better understanding of why investing in public education is beneficial.
"Now everybody needs to think for a living," said Vollmer. "We find ourselves in this place where either we educate them all or we wind up taking care of people for the rest of our lives or living in fear of them for the rest of our lives. Because, in the 21st Century, poorly educated people are desperate and desperate people are dangerous.
He spoke to members of the Tippecanoe, West Lafayette, and Lafayette School Corporations, Thurdsday.
Vollmer also met with businesses and civic organizations on plans to move education in the area forward.