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homelessness in public schools essays
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Homelessness Public Schools essay
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In the United States nationwide public schools are faced with dilemmas. The choices schools make has to be effective, serve the students, and have the best outcome. Well known problems such as bullying, special educational needs, budget cuts, new standards, and job cuts. Some of the problems are well known to the public while other problems are left in the background. According to the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY) reported that the U.S. Department of Education collected data stating “during the 2008-2009 school year that 954,914 homeless children and youth were enrolled in public schools.” This problem affects the child socially, mentally, and most importantly academically.
The National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY) defines Homelessness “is a lack of permanent housing resulting from extreme poverty and/or unsafe or unstable living environments” (NAEHCY, 2011, p. 2). In the year 2004, it was required that all states were to report to CSPR (Consolidated State Performance Report) of data collected of children and youth enrolled in any educational services (Bowman, Dukes, Moore, 2012, p. 6). The table presented below shows reports the school years of 2004-2010.
Number of Homeless Students Reported by States in the CSPR
2004-2005 2005-2006 2006-2007 2007-2008 2008-2009 2009-2010
655,591 906,680* 679,724 794,617 956,914 939,903
The National Center on Family Homelessness (NCFH) conducted research and collected data and found during a three year research of CSPR reports. (Bowman. ET al.’s, 2012). In the school years 2006-2009 “41% increase in the number of homeless student enrolled in schools across the nation” (Bowman...
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...2). Summary of the state of research: On the relationship between homelessness and academic achievement among school-aged children and youth (ED-04-CO-0056/0002). Retrieved from U.S. Department of Education website: http://www.serve.org/nche
Carter. Samuel, C. (2000). No excuses; lessons from 21 high performing high poverty schools. Washington, DC: The Heritage Foundation.
Murphy.Joseph, F. & Tobin.Kerri, J. (2011, November). Homelessness comes to school. How homeless children and youths can succeed, 93(3), 32-37. Retrieved from http://kappanmagazine.org
National Assocation for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth. (2011). Facts about homeless education. Retrieved from http;//naehcy.org/facts.html
W&B School of Education. (2012). History of the mckinney act. Retrieved from http://education.wm.edu/centers/hope/resources/mckinneyact/index.php
Through Title VII-B of the act, it is intended to serve the youth who lack stable living conditions and “adequate nighttime residency” (The McKinney-Vento Act …). The U.S. Department of Education also states that, “Title VII-B of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act is intended to ensure that homelessness does not cause these children to be left behind in school” (US department of edu). Within each state, a State Coordinator is appointed for the Education of the Education of Homeless Children and Youth. Their job is to create and im a plan
Federal law defines homeless children as children who lack “a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence.” Michigan ranks 29th in the nation in child homelessness and has been rated the 4th worst when it comes to student homelessness. According to the Department of Education, there were 43,418 homeless students in Michigan during the 2011-2012 school year. That was approximately 42% more than what was reported for 2010 – 2011 school year and 96% from 2009 – 2010. (National Center for Homeless Education, 2013) This is a huge problem and it affects teaching staff, students, parents and the economy.
In Gwinnett county the average homeless person is 6 years old (Family Promise of Gwinnett County, 2013). As an educator, this is worrisome because these children in poverty will encounter many difficulties relating to their education. What difficulties are these children facing with and their education? According to Donald Hernandez (Hernandez, 2011), "Consequently, the children in poor families are in double jeopardy: They are more likely to have low reading test scores and, at any reading-skill level, they are less likely to graduate from high school." Growing up in poverty means there is very limited resources available to help climb out of poverty. Resources such as housing, clothing, and food are basic needs that have to be fulfilled for a child to grow up properly (Shaffer, 2014, pp158). When these basic needs are no...
Here in Tahoe, we are lucky enough to experience a great quality of life, and only a few have to face the horrible life of poverty and homelessness. However, nationwide, even right outside the basin, homelessness is a growing epidemic across the country. There are many ways one can become homeless; for the most part poverty. There are also different concentrations of homeless in different types of terrain, such as urban or suburban areas. Last, there is the ever- growing homeless population, and how much money it costs us for others to live in poverty. These are the questions we ask ourselves about homelessness, and the only way we can help is to know the facts about this lingering subject.
Living without a home can put an individual at a high risk of finding themselves in dangerous situations. Among these are the possibility of: being harmed or exploited by others, raped or sexually abused, or doing illegal things, such as prostitution or drug dealing, in order to make a living (“Being”). Along with these perils comes the problematic issue of attending school. Fifty percent of homeless youth, aged sixteen or older, reported dropping out of school, being expelled, or suspended (“NRS”). Many times a youth’s attention will be more focused on their basic needs, food and shelter, and schooling no longer is a necessity to them. When an adolescent does, however, wish to enroll and attend school they are met with restrictions that prevent them from getting an opportunity. In ...
McNamara, Robert Hartmann. "Homelessness." Encyclopedia of Contemporary American Social Issues. Ed. Michael Shally-Jensen. Vol. 3: Family and Society. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2011. 1024-1031. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 2 May 2014. .
Romeo, Jim. "Homelessness in America Is a Growing Problem." Poverty and Homelessness. Ed. Noël Merino. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Current Controversies. Rpt. from "A Roof of One's Own: Homelessness Is Growing, but Solutions Are Out There." Planning 71.11 (Dec. 2005): 12-16. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 11 Dec. 2013.
Grant, R., Gracy, D., Goldsmith, G., Shapiro, A., & Redlener, I. E. (2013). Twenty-Five Years of Child and Family Homelessness: Where Are We Now?. American Journal Of Public Health, 103(S2), e1-e10. doi:10.2105/AJPH. 2013.301618
Gattis and Larson suggest, “interested parties could benefit from an improved understanding of the mental health needs of homeless adolescents. This knowledge could be used to identify youths at risk of becoming homeless and to provide appropriate services to those currently homeless” (p. 87). In short, education and knowledge regarding the homelessness in itself can do wonders. The homeless face many hardships including depression, anxiety, PTSD, discrimination, and suicidal thoughts. These are just a few things that homeless people face that the general population don’t take into consideration on a first glance or thought. Intervention and world of mouth will also help, because this is a topic society doesn’t necessary publicize, we don’t know much about it. If this is publicized in a positive way, the motivation and self-esteem from homeless people will also rise. The increase of access to insurance would also help prevent this. In order to get treated for any mental illness they have, they need insurance. With active treatment for a mental illness, this will heighten the likelihood of obtaining a reliable job. Which in turn, will essentially help prevent the homeless from being
With the number of homeless students on the rise, schools encounter new educational challenges that include: establishing and maintaining enrollment procedures that would not discourage school attendance; lack of teacher-training/awareness in the special needs of homeless children; the non-existence of a school transfer system for homeless children that would be least destructive to a child's education, while all the time not overlooking the basic needs of food, clothing, shelter, security and medical care that homeless families with children require immediately.
Although The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act is a program that guarantees education for the homeless youth population, many homeless do not receive the proper services they need because they are not aware of available resources (Heinze & Jozefowicz-Simbeni, 2009). Many homeless youths do not have a safe place to stay during the night or do not have any family or friends to rely on for support. In addition, approximately 7% of youth members in the United States are left without a home because of high dependence on an addictive substance or because they have been diagnosed with a mental health disorder (Heinze & Jozefowicz-Simbeni, 2009). Services that could provide shelter for the youth are often underused. Research in homeless youth
Family homelessness is a fairly new social problem in America. Beginning in the early 1980’s, families with children have become the fastest growing segment of the homeless population.
Educational barriers and dropout rates impact the potential future earnings of homeless children. Israel, Toro, and Oullette (2010) noted that homeless persons have a lower income level than poor people who have never experienced homelessness. The impact of earning a high school diploma is likely to improve the financial future of an individual that has suffered homelessness (Day, 2011; Greenstone & Looney, 2011). If youths dropout of high schoo...
Works Cited Affordable Housing Shortage Threatens Children's Health. Family Housing Fund. June 1999.Apr. 2009 . American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Pub. L. 111-5. 6 Jan. 2009. The White House. 13 Feb. 2009. 29 Apr. 2009 . America's Youngest Outcasts: State Report Card on Child Homelessness. The National Center on Family Homelessness. 10 Mar. 2009. 5 Apr. 2009. . p.52. Education For Homeless Children And Youth Program. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. July 2004. United States Department of Education. 29 Apr. 2009. . Education of Homeless Children and Youth. National Coalition for the Homeless. June 2008. 5 Apr. 2009 . "Education Pays..." Bureau of Labor Statistics. 6 Mar. 2009. United States Department of Labor. 29 Apr. 2009 . Hart-Shegos,
There are many factors that compromise the ability of homeless children to succeed in school. Some of these barriers may include health problems, hunger, transportation obstacles, and difficulty obtaining school supplies. I know in my situation my family and I bounced from hotel to hotel but luckily I remained in the same school. Many families are not that fortunate. For instance, the family of twins in the first grade have already been in three different schools. Not only do these children lose their friends, but they have to get use to a new school, new teachers, and new school work that is often discontinuous with what they were doing previously. Through my own experiences and knowing the statistical information about the effects of homeless of course this will have a major impact on the teacher I will