By AFRO Staff
Digital Harbor students Kaia Johnson and Brian Eggleston designed the logo for the Baltimore Complete County Committee. (Courtesy Photo)
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The work of Kaia Johnson and Brian Eggleston was acknowledged at the 2010 Census in Schools program kick off Nov. 2. (Courtesy Photo)
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(November 5, 2009) - It's that time again.
As outlined in the Constitution, every 10 years the government is required to count and report, in a variety of configurations, the number of people living in the United States.
The public is being asked to step out again and be counted in 2010, but a lot of preparation is needed before the actual counting takes place. On Nov. 2, as part of the advance efforts, the 2010 Census In Schools Program was kicked off nationwide.
One of the showcase events was held at Digital Harbor High School in Baltimore and was attended by Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, U.S. Census Bureau Director Robert Groves, Maryland's Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., and students and teachers from the school.
The Census in Schools program, themed “It's About Us,” will educate the nation's student about the importance of the census, so they can share the information with their families. Armed with good information, the youth can then work to make sure every household member is counted in the 2010 Census.
Many Americans question the significance of being counted and participating in the progress. But population information is essential to allocating $300 billion annually in government funds for community services. It is also used to determine voting districts, the proper congressional representation for an area and the location of schools, roads, hospitals, senior care facilities and more.
According to the Census Bureau, the 2010 census questionnaire is as simple as its ever been– only 10 questions, and should take about 10 minutes to complete. The basic information requested, which by law the Census Bureau cannot share with anyone including law enforcement entities, will make it possible for the government to provide equitable services in communities around the nation.
The It's About Us program will share all that information with students and more and will incorporate map skills and lessons that help with understanding, managing and interpreting data. The initiative will also increase student’s awareness of why it is important for everyone to be counted.
During the kick off, the speakers reiterated these messages to the students at Digital Harbor High and took time to honor the student designers of the Baltimore Complete Count Committee logo, Kaia Johnson and Brian Eggleston. Their design incorporated the central theme of the Census 2010 slogan – "It's in your hands" – and the directionality of their school logo. It will be used by the committee through the pre-census promotions and the counting campaign.
Census Day is April 1, 2010, the day all questionnaires should be returned. After that, census workers will begin a door-to-door count for all households where the form was not submitted. For more information on the census, the form or the process, please visit www.census.gov.