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FSA prioritizes needs for central Orange County Apr. 08, 2015 @ 08:33 PM Katie Jansen HILLSBOROUGH — The Family Success Alliance on Wednesday night shared preliminary data gathered from 68 survey responses collected in central Orange County between I-40 and I-85. The region, known as Zone 4 to the Family Success Alliance, is one of two pilot zones selected to begin work in creating a pipeline that supports children from the cradle to college or a career. Mayor Tom Stevens thanked those for their interest in the community’s needs and for their work to meet those needs. “It’s not right if the things that mak e us a cool town and a great place to live are not available to everyone,” he said. To gather the data, volunteers went door-to-door administering surveys, and the survey was also available online. Input was received from youth, parents, community leaders and service providers, said Meredith McMonigle of the Orange County Health Department. Focus groups also had discussions about needs in the community. Groups included a group of service providers, a group of Latina mothers and a group of middle school girls. Allison Young of the Orange County Health Department and Jennifer Walters, a social work researcher at RTI, presented some of the trends found from the data. Many families surveyed expressed a need for early childhood resources, such as easier access to child care. EOG scores also showed potential problems within schools. The average third-grade reading proficiency for Zone 4 was 19 percentage points lower than the average third -grade reading level across the entire school district. However, Walters said, most parents surveyed did feel that students were supported when in school. They also felt the district offered a wide variety of after -school programs, although parents cited several challenges that inhibited participation: cost, transportation and lack of communication — meaning that parents simply don’t know what’s available to their children. Some of the challenges were specific to the Hispanic and Latina community. New Hope Elementary, a school within Zone 4, currently has a student body that is 42 percent Hispanic or Latina. This may suggest a shift in the demographics of the population. But many Latina mothers expressed concern about communicating with their children’s schools and about transportation. If they were to take their children to afterschool activities, they said they would be afraid of getting stopped by the police in routine traffic stops. Sandra Blefko, ESL family outreach specialist for Orange County Schools, said she was not surprised by the data presented and that many of the families she works with voice similar concerns.