Sustainability Through Higher Ed, 4H, FFA, & FotoFest: Houston Matters for Tuesday, March 18, 2014

A new report from Rice University’s Shell Center for Sustainability examines disparities in education and income in Houston, and its impact on the city’s economic expansion. “Houston Community Sustainability: The Quality of Life Atlas” looks at 24 social, economic, and environmental indicators of sustainability in 88 Houston “super-neighborhoods” and recommends major intervention to encourage more Houston high school grads to pursue higher education, whether academic or trade degrees. Approximately half of the Houstonians included in the report have no degree past high school, something the report’s author, Lester King, finds “troubling.”

On this edition of Houston Matters, we’ll talk with Shell Center for Sustainability Fellow Lester King about his report.

Then, we’ll explore what can be done to keep more of Houston’s kids on a college track. We’ll welcome your questions and comments for David Head, Project Manager with Communities in Schools of Houston at Alexander Elementary in Alief ISD, and Dr. Ann Stiles, Executive Director and CEO of Project GRAD Houston.

Also this hour: We’ll learn about 4-HÂ and FFAÂ here in Houston. These clubs teach life skills to Houston’s next generation of farmers.

And: FotoFest – Houston’s six week long, international biennial photography festival – is underway now through April 27^th, with photography exhibits and events around the city. This year’s FotoFest focuses on contemporary Arab video, photography and mixed media art. But there are exhibits focused on other themes, including one that documents life in a little-known area near The Woodlands called Tamina. Houston Matters’ Michael Hagerty will tell us more about the exhibit, and why one local photographer decided she needed to tell the neighborhood’s story.