South+Kingstown+Community


 * South Kingstown, RI **
 * Kelsea Adams and Katie Delaney**

** Introduction **

The community of South Kingstown, Rhode Island is an all around great community to live in. The town of South Kingstown, Rhode Island consists of Wakefield, Kingston, West Kingston, Snug Harbor, Peace Dale, Green Hill, Perryville, Tucker Town, Matunuck, East Matunuck. The village of Kingston is known as a census-designated area; therefore, the following data was from Kingston, Rhode Island. South Kingstown's overall description can be analyzed in the areas of: geographical location, family and community, health and safety, education indicators, data from KidsCount, economic well-being indicators, income poverty data, and race and ethnicity data. This context report displays the factual information of South Kingstown, Rhode Island and how it is an educationally, economically, and safely thriving community.

** Geographical Location ** South Kingstown, RI is a small community with an area of only about 79.8 square miles. It borders Narragansett and North Kingstown, and is only a few miles from the water. It is part of Washington County of Rhode Island. It is a highly developed area, with neighborhoods, apartment complexes, schools, stores, restaurants, the University of Rhode Island, and much more.



** Family and Community **

Of the total number of South Kingstown students, 3,951 of them live in a stable, married couple household. 122,057 children of Rhode Island do as well. Of the 5,416 children of South Kingstown, 20% live in single-parent households; and of the 223,956 children living in Rhode Island, 31% are in the same situation. 5% of South Kingstown children and 6% of the children from the entire state live with their grandparents. Given these statistics, the kids of South Kingstown can be said to have relatively stable home lives. (Kids Count)

** Health and Safety ** Medical Assistance is not in high demand/need in South Kingstown like it is throughout the State of Rhode Island for children under nineteen. 1,018 children of South Kingstown need it, and 93,691 children of Rhode Island need it. Luckily, Rhode Island is a predominantly safe place to reside for children. The child abuse and neglect rate is extremely low, less than 1% for South Kingstown and only about 1.4% for Rhode Island all together. (Kids Count)

** Education Indicators **

South Kingstown, as well as most of Rhode Island, has education as a high priority. 100% of South Kingstown children and 64% of all children in Rhode Island attend/have attended full-day Kindergarten. Also, 84% of South Kingstown students and 77% of Rhode Island students graduate from high school. Special Education is also taken seriously. 14% of South Kingstown children and 11% of Rhode Island children take part in early intervention, which helps handicapped children under the age of 3 to get a head start in development to help them later in schooling. (Kids Count)

** Data From Kids Count **

Of the 30,639 residents in South Kingstown, RI, 5,416 of them are children ranging from eighteen years of age and under. Comparatively speaking, South Kingstown’s population of children makes up only about 2.4% of the total population of children in the entire state of Rhode Island, which is 223,956. Only 7% of the children of affluent South Kingstown, where the median income is a striking $104,257, live below the federal poverty threshold. In the entire state of Rhode Island, where the median income is $67,239, 16.7% of the children live under this threshold. Overall, though, the kids of South Kingstown live in relatively wealthy homes. (Kids Count)

** Economic Well-Being Indicators **

South Kingstown is a relatively affluent community. Only 556 children are on food stamps compared to the astonishing state-wide number of children using food stamps, 63,783. In addition, 20% of South Kingstown children and 36% of Rhode Island children in total participate in the School Breakfast Program, which provides federally subsidized breakfasts to children in schools and childcare facilities. Also, 1% receive cash assistance in South Kingstown and 5% receive it state-wide. Given this information, the students of South Kingstown are not as dependent on subsidized meals as the students of Rhode Island itself are. (Kids Count)

** Income Poverty Data ** South Kingstown is economically an above average community as compared to the state of Rhode Island and the United States. The University of Rhode Island and other school districts, such as Compass Charter School are located in Kingston, boosting its economy. The medianhousehold income ($51,250) is average compared to the median household income in Rhode Island ($52,254) and the United States ($50,046). As for the median family income, South Kingstown is drastically higher ($81,923), than Rhode Island ($67,814) and the United States (60,609). This also shows in the data that South Kingstown has 0.0% of families who are below poverty level, which shows South Kingstown is above average in the state of Rhode Island with 9.2% of families and the United States with 11.3% of families. Although this may be true, there are numerous individuals in South Kingstown who are below the poverty level (17.3%), more so than in Rhode Island (14.0%) and the United States (15.3%). According to the data, South Kingstown has a lower percentage of its people in the labor force than compared to Rhode Island and the United States. South Kingstown does show its economic stand point with the income of families. There is 0.0% of families making less than $10,000, and 20.5% of families making between $150,000-$199,000. This shows that the families in South Kingstown who are in the labor force are making higher wages than families in Rhode Island and the United States.Overall, the town of South Kingstown, Rhode Island is above satisfactory in regards to its economy compared to the state of Rhode Island and the U.S. (US Census)

** Race and Ethnicity Data ** South Kingstown is a town that is not extremely diverse. It is predominately white (85.3% of their population), more so than Rhode Island (81.4% of their population) and the United States (72.4% of their population). On average, South Kingstown and the state of Rhode Island have a lower percentage of Black/African Americans (5.7%) than compared to the U.S. (12.6%). South Kingstown also has a lower percentage of American Indian/Alaskan natives (0.4%) and Hispanics (6.2%), as compared to Rhode Island (0.6% American Indian/Alaskan natives and 12.4% Hispanics) and the U.S. (0.9% American Indian/Alaskan natives and 16.3% Hispanics). South Kingstown's population has a lower percentage of people who are two or more races than Rhode Island and the U.S., and has a higher percentage of people who are one race. In conclusion, the race and ethnicity in the town of South Kingstown, Rhode Island proves to be homogeneous with only some scattered diversity. (US Census)


 * Conclusion **

In conclusion, not only is South Kingstown in a great location, near the water, malls, neighborhoods, but it is also affluent, stable, and safe. South Kingstown is stable in both safety and finances. The poverty and incident rates of South Kingstown are extremely low, which directly affects the success of its students. The only thing that South Kingstown lacks is diversity; however, due to its close location to the diverse Providence, its students do not miss out on cultural experiences. Overall, the South Kingstown community is an extraordinary place in which to reside and to go to school.