Our Mission


     In order to “create a more perfect community,” its leaders need to have a data base of knowledge. The information used to decide where and for what tax dollars should be spent is often misleading and the funds are not used to the greatest utility. Frequently, this information is based on what exists within the community and does not take into account the possibility of what other leaders are doing in similar situations. Students have an obligation to help provide these busy leaders with this information for two reasons. First, it is their community and the decisions made directly impact their lives. Secondly, students are potential leaders and should have the skills of finding accurate information without having to rely on lobbyists or others who may have a vested financial interest in the decision.


Aim


    Therefore, the goal of our research project is two-fold. First, it provides an overview of the resources that can be acquired to find needed decision making data. This takes the form of our extensive links page which enables students and others to gain quick access to interactive sites that provide a variety of information in the areas of finances, kid friendliness, and public safety. Secondly, we have provided samples of a comparison we did with our community, Walnut, in a ten of the 27 areas we studied. These graphs show how well our city is doing and form the basis for a presentation we are going to make to our community leaders along with our recommendations for future improvements. Appendix A has the categories we graphed.


Methods


    Any school can duplicate our efforts by utilizing our links, using emails to community officials, writing letters, and seeking the assistance of university personnel in those communities that have a college. This data should be compiled into two spreadsheets: one that sorted cities in the same state and another for similar populated locations across the nation. We selected the top ten cities with the most statistics to be compared to Walnut, our own city. We graded our city based on the statistics that we have collected which clearly illustrated where our city stands. This "report card" is a useful tool for anyone who wants to determine how well their community compares to others
 

Notice:

*It should be noted that our study was not designed to prove one community is better than another. This is not a rating site. Instead, this information can be used to work with public officials and show them areas that may need attention or improvement. Furthermore, students can provide the elected officials with the names of the communities that are doing well so they could contact them and ask questions about where the funding was acquired and other information. Finally, students can use the problem solving information, such as crime rate and hazardous materials, to select the best community for them to attend college or reside in later in life.