Giving Compass' Take:

• Both past and present mayors of Indianapolis recognize the current issues relating to poverty in their city and believe that the answer for upward mobility is early education. 

• What efforts are happening to increase access and quality of education in Indianapolis? Are government officials tapping philanthropists and local organizations for help? 

• Read about the ten lessons in education reform from Indianapolis schools. 

When asked to name the most important steps that the city of Indianapolis has taken to improve the lives of people in poverty, Indianapolis’ current mayor and past three mayors all pointed to one “game-changer”: education.

“Pre-K would be one of them,” Mayor Joe Hogsett said Thursday in front of corporate, philanthropic, and community leaders.

Hogsett, Ballard, Peterson, and Stephen Goldsmith — four Indianapolis mayors, two Democrats and two Republicans — appeared Thursday on a panel on fighting poverty, held by the United Way of Central Indiana, the Indy Chamber, and the Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee.

The panel touched on the city’s high levels of race and income segregation concentrated in the urban core and low rates of upward economic mobility. One landmark study has shown that Indianapolis is one of the toughest cities for people born in poverty to move up on the economic ladder.

The mayors discussed the challenges of the city’s public transportation options and food deserts. Among the bright spots— though still ongoing efforts— they named neighborhood revitalization and education efforts.

“So long as substantial numbers of young men and women don’t graduate from high school, let alone college, we’re going to continue this issue,” Goldsmith said.

Read the full article about poverty and education by Stephanie Wang at Chalkbeat