One million homeless children and youth were enrolled in U.S. schools in 2009. Experts estimate that as many as half a million more went uncounted because they weren't enrolled in school. How can educators help students maintain their studies while living in an unstable environment?
In the United States, the homeless child population has increased by 47 percent in the past two years. Increasing unemployment rates have combined with home foreclosures to render many more families homeless since 2007.
A homeless person is defined as someone who does not have a "fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence," according to the PBS website article "Facts and Figures: The Homeless." By this definition, families living in campgrounds, motels, cars, and with other families are technically homeless. For families, the top three causes of homelessness are lack of affordable housing, poverty, and unemployment, according to the U.S. Conference of Mayors' 2008 Hunger and Homelessness Survey.
The odds are greater than ever that teachers will have highly mobile or homeless students in their classrooms. Educators can help by recognizing the indicators of such living situations and understanding students' legal rights and educational needs. Developing a plan to quickly and properly assess students, help them transition into a new school, and meet their basic needs will allow teachers to provide stability for students who may bounce from school to school as they move among temporary residences.
Understanding Students' Legal Rights
The homeless population is usually highly mobile. In such situations, school may be the only stabilizing influence in the life of a homeless child. Legislation is in place to help keep children in their schools of origin, if it is in their best interest, or to help them transition to another school.
Homeless children have certain legal rights under the McKinney-Vento Homelessness Assistance Act that was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan in 1987 and reauthorized as part of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002. The act requires that state and local educational agencies provide homeless students with access to school, despite their housing situation.
- Homeless students may remain in their school of origin, even if they are living temporarily in another district.
- Schools must provide transportation for these students to their school of origin.
- Children and youth who are homeless can enroll in school and begin attending immediately, even without normally required documents.
The act also requires every school district to designate a homeless liaison to ensure the act is implemented in the district. If an educator suspects that a student does not have a permanent home, he should contact the district liaison and check the National Center for Homeless Education (NCHE) at the SERVE Center's website for a list of state and local resources.
"Classroom teachers share the responsibility for ensuring that homeless children are identified," says Barbara Duffield, policy director for NAEHCY. "District liaisons can do sensitive, discreet inquiries into the family living situation and offer help."
Identifying and Helping Homeless Students
- Physical: fatigue, poor health and nutrition, poor personal hygiene, wears same clothes day after day, frequent respiratory ailments and asthma
- Behavioral: very possessive of belongings, secretive, unable to give home address, hoards food
- Cognitive: poor organizational skills, inability to conceptualize
- Academic: indications of lack of continuity in education; incomplete or missing records and transcripts; incomplete or missing assignments; lack of materials and supplies; poor attendance; missed parental deadlines for permission forms, etc.; parents difficult to contact
These signs, especially multiple ones with one child, can indicate homelessness, Fessler says.
If you think a student is homeless, be sure to alert administrators and the district liaison, says Fessler. "We do not want teachers feeling pressured to confront children or families, and in fact we don't want to 'confront' anyone," explains Fessler. "When a teacher expresses concerns to me about a student, I contact the parents or family members, offering empathy and support. I offer to help them find solutions in a cooperative way."
The district's homeless liaison can ensure that the student is getting the services and support guaranteed by the law. The McKinney-Vento Act is an unfunded mandate, which means that available services will differ by district. The law is intentionally vague; the job of districts and liaisons is to "remove barriers to education" that homelessness causes.
Fessler describes Cincinnati's program for homeless students as "full-service." She can provide students with backpacks full of school supplies, uniform vouchers, adequate shoes, and winter coats if necessary.
As a teacher, you can ensure the child's needs are being met by helping enroll the child in free meal programs, provide classroom materials and supplies, plug him into extended-day programs, refer him for supplemental instructional support—whatever you can do to make sure the child feels safe and has adequate nutrition and ample time and space to complete classwork.
Creating a Welcoming Classroom
According to The Economic Crisis Hits Home, homeless children are 1.5 times more likely to perform below grade level in reading and spelling and 2.5 times more likely to perform below grade level in math.
And these adverse effects can snowball, according to Diana Bowman, director of the NCHE. "Every time a child changes schools, he or she can get several months behind. Only a few moves equal a whole grade."
- Prepare a list of your class routines and procedures.
- Prepare a new student file with information for parents and guardians.
- Maintain a supply of materials for students to use at school.
- Prepare a "getting to know you" activity for the class to do on the first day.
- Post the class schedule in a visible place.
The next step is to assess the student for proper placement. It can be difficult to assess these students, particularly if the family has been highly mobile for some time and many or all transcripts and records are unavailable.
Develop an arsenal of quick, easy assessments and drills you can administer to discover where students are academically. On its website, NCHE provides a useful issue brief,Prompt and Proper Placement: Enrolling Students Without Records, for free download. The publication includes information-gathering techniques, questions to ask students and parents, affordable assessment instruments, and links to computer-based assessment tools.
Talk with new students about what they studied at their last school, and attempt to find out what texts they were using. If you discover learning gaps, use your creativity to close them. Assign special projects that will help the student catch up, or if the student is old enough, find out whether you can grant academic credit for a paying job or other activities. Many states have online courses that qualify for academic credit; find some that might help students close the gap. "Remember that many students do not have an environment conducive to doing homework," Bowman says. Allow homeless students to work in your classroom before or after class; help them gain access to a computer or study carrel in the library. "That student may only be in your classroom for a day, a week, or a month," says Bowman. "It's important to be very targeted about the most important things to accomplish, and to make every day productive."
Be sensitive in your curriculum and assignments as well, urges Fessler. Remember that not all families have the funds for optional field trips or supplies for large, home-based projects. You can also work with your district liaison to find out whether Title I funds might cover field trip fees and educational enrichment.
"It's important that teachers be aware of the needs of these students and that we support, understand, and encourage them," says John McLaughlin, federal coordinator for education of homeless children and youth programs for the U.S. Department of Education. McLaughlin was once a state coordinator, and he remembers a helpful job aid distributed by social workers in the Minneapolis Public Schools. The resource reminded educators that new students need "a warm welcome, the basics of life, a buddy, flexibility, and high expectations."
By greeting children in transitional living situations with affection and optimism and helping them get their basic needs met, educators can help set them on the path to stability and educational success.