Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
QCS Staff
Quay County’s child poverty rate, at 26 percent, was a little lower than the state’s overall child poverty rate of 28 percent.
The state’s rating ranked it as 48th of the 49 states. Quay County’s rate ranked it at 13th among the state’s 33 counties. Luna County, where 47 percent of children live in poverty, was the state’s worst, according to data in the 2014 Kids Count survey of child health and safety-related data, published by Kids Count, a child welfare advocacy organization funded by the Anna E. Casey Foundation.
In other Kids Count Survey data:
• 54 percent of Quay County childen live with parents who don’t have secure employment, placing the county third from bottom. The worst was Catron County with 68 percent. The best was Los Alamos County, with 25 percent.
• Quay County ranks seventh from bottom in teens not attending school and not working with 16 percent fitting that “disengaged” category. The lowest is Los Alamos County with 1 percent. The worst is Sierra County with 26 percent.
• Quay County is third from the bottom in its 21 percent rate of three- and four-year-old children attending preschool. The best rate was in DeBaca County, where all children in that age group attended pre-school. The worst was in Sierra County, where none attended pre-school.
• Quay is fourth from bottom in low birth-weight babies at 10 percent. From 2006 to 2012, Quay County’s rate for low birth-weight babies was 8.7 percent, which ranked Quay County at fourth from bottom. The worst in the 2014 ranking was Catron County with 14.3 percent. The best was is Guadalupe with 2.4 percent (Harding and Debaca counties each had zero, though.)
• Quay County had the state’s third lowest score in children without health insurance with 6.4 percent. The lowest was Los Alamos County with 2.7 percent. The worst was Harding with 14.9 percent.
• Quay is 14th in state in teen binge drinking, where 19 percent of students reported they had engaged in binge drinking. The lowest rate was in DeBaca County, with 8 percent. Worst was Luna County with 31 percent
• Quay was fifth lowest in the state for children in single-parent families, at 28 percent. The lowest was in Harding County, 19 percent. The worst is Hidalgo County with 55 percent.
• Families where head of household lacks a high school diploma. Quay is 11th in the state with 13 percent. The highest was Luna County, with 31 percent Best is Los Alamos with 2 percent.
• In its rate of children in hi-poverty areas, Quay County ranked ninth from bottom with 31 percent. McKinley County was at the bottom with 79 percent. The best was in Sandoval county with 5 percent. State average is 22 percent. The national average is 13 percent.
• Quay is seventh from bottom in births to mothers age 15 to19 At 50.3 per thousand. From 2006 to 2012 Quay County’s adolescent birth rate was 56.6 per thousand, placing it third from the bottom. The worst rate was in Luna County with 81.7 per thousand. The best rate was in Los Alamos County, at 9.6. The New Mexico average is 40 per thousand. The national average is 29 per thousand.
• Among Quay County school districts, the highest percentage qualifying for free breakfast and lunch programs was 83 percent of 990 students in Tucumcari. In San Jon, 60 percent of 136 students qualify. In Logan, half of its 272 students qualify. In House, 35 percent of 79 students qualify.
• Among Quay County school districts, House reported 86 percent of students were proficient in reading by the fourth grade, but only 20 percent were proficient in math by the eighth grade. In Logan, 53 percent of fourth graders were proficient in reading, while 38 percent of eighth graders were proficient in math. In San Jon, 35 percent of fourth graders were proficient in reading and 33 percent of eighth graders were proficient in math. In Tucumcari, 47 percent of fourth graders were proficient readers and 50 percent of eighth graders were proficient in math.
• Among Quay County school districts, House reported that 13 percent of students were habitually truant, and had a dropout rate of 9 percent. Logan had a 1 percent habitual truancy rate and a 1 percent dropout rate. San Jon reported none in either category. Tucumcari reported an 11 percent habitual truancy rate and a 3 percent dropout rate. Statewide 14 percent of students were habitually truant and 5 percent were dropouts.
• Among Quay County school districts, House reported that 42 percent of students graduate on time, and 47 percent of disadvantaged students graduate on time. Logan reported 69 percent of students graduate on time, and 98 percent of disadvantages students graduate on time. In San Jon, 87 percent of students graduate on time, and 84 percent of disadvantaged students graduate on time. In Tucumcari 54 percent of students graduate on time, and 54 percent of disadvantaged students graduate on time. Statewide, 70 percent of students graduate on time and 65 percent of disadvantaged students graduate on time.
• Among Quay County adults, 19 percent did not complete high school, 39 percent had a high school diploma only, 5 percent had an assocate’s degree, 10 percent had a bachelor’s degree and 5 percent had education above bachelor’s degree level. In New Mexico, 17 percent had not received a high school diploma, 26 percent had a diploma only 8 percent had an associate’s degree, 15 percent had a bachelor’s degree and 11 percent had a graduate degree.
