Priority Area: Education

Why is education important to health?

There is much evidence linking educational attainment and high school graduation rates to improved health outcomes. As reported in Our Community Vital Signs 2013 Final Report, people with more education have lower rates of the most common acute and chronic diseases. High school graduates earn higher salaries, have better self-esteem, more personal life satisfaction, fewer health problems, and less involvement in criminal activity as compared to high school dropouts. Similarly, education has been strongly linked to health outcomes. The Robert Wood Johnson Report Foundation reports, “people with more education are likely to live longer, to experience better health outcomes, and to practice health-promoting behaviors such as exercising regularly, refraining from smoking, and obtaining timely health care check-ups and screenings”.

How do the goals align with the Countywide Vision?

Education is also a core element in the Countywide Vision and focuses on reducing the number of high school and college dropouts, integrating educational institutions into economic and job creation efforts, as well as partnering with all sectors of the community to support the success of every child from cradle to career.

What did the data show?

In SBC 21% of adults 25 or older had less than a high school diploma in 2013, which was higher than the State at 18%. Only 19% of adults 25 and older in the County had a bachelor’s degree, a graduate degree or a professional degree as compared to 31% across the State in 2013. In addition, the 2013-14 graduation rate for San Bernardino County was 79%, slightly lower than the state rate at 81%. That rate increased from 2011-12 school year for both the County(77% to 79%) and the state (79% to 81%).