Homeless Children and Their Education
Did you know that there are over 1.3 million homeless children in the United States? While some of these homeless children are getting an education, there are more that don't get the education they need. There are some who get help through various resources, including special programs and laws. But certain families and school districts can't help the homeless children with their education. There are even school districts that have funds to be used specifically to help educate homeless children that aren't able to help them. They need help with this, as it is said that the only hope for homeless children is to get an education.
There are a variety of resources and programs that are put toward helping homeless children with their education. One program (it is actually a law that is part of the No Child Left Behind Act) is the McKinney-Vento Act. The McKinney-Vento Act says that, if in the best interest of the homeless student, they can remain in a certain school, even if it is not their zoned school. The McKinney-Vento Act also requires a homeless liaison in each school district to make sure that homeless children in their school district receive an education and actually attend a school. These liaisons work with and help each homeless child with their education. The Act also specifies that transportation to and from the school for each child has to be provided.
Most homeless children that are enrolled in school receive help from a variety of sources. In fact, according to Joan Lunden, narrator on America's Invisible Children, 37% of homeless children receive help with school. Also, the homeless liaisons' work involves ensuring the homeless children's identification, enrollment, attendance, and opportunities for academic success even if they don't have the required items. In addition to that, there are even scholarships that target homeless students. For example, the LeTendre Scholarship Fund scholarship provides assistance to students who are homeless or have experienced homelessness and gives a minimum of two $1,500 scholarships each year.
There are even supplies that are donated to various homeless children or shelters to help with the progression of the homeless children's education. Most of the homeless children cannot get school supplies for themselves so they have to rely on others for school supplies. Some organizations, such as Feed the Children, donate backpacks to these children. They even include school supplies in them, such as pencils, markers, and paper! These students also get free breakfast and lunch while they are at school, as it is required by law.
While there are some families and school districts that are able to help the homeless children with their education, there are some that aren't able to help the homeless children. While the McKinney-Vento Act does have some positive effects, there are some negative effects that come with it as well with it as well. Only 3% of all of the school districts receive funding to help them provide an education for their homeless students. That means that only 450 out of 15,000 school districts receive funding to help further the education of the homeless children in their school district. Adding to that, there are only one or two homeless liaisons that help thousands of homeless students in a school district.
There are also problems in the families of these children. Some of these children are alone and taking care of themselves because their caretakers die. Another problem is that some parents just give their children up because they don't want them or can't care for them. In addition to that, there isn't much help available to single fathers. Most shelters will only help families or single mothers.
There are also negative effects of school transfers that nobody can control. As a homeless student seen in the movie, In Their Own Voices, says, "You make friends and move to a different school, make friends and move to a different school." Almost ½ of homeless children in school attend two different schools in one year. Did you know that it takes four to six months for students to recover from school transfers? That's almost half of the entire school year.
There are even some funded counties that don't get help for their homeless students. There are a lot of homeless students who have problems in school. 43% of homeless children repeat a grade. 25% of the homeless children are placed in special education. 50% (half) are currently failing academically (math, reading, science, language arts, and social studies). Homeless children need all the help they can get in school.
Another reason the funded counties can't help is the fact they can't identify, or find, the homeless children who aren't enrolled. As Phillip Lovell, Vice President for Educating, Housing, and Youth Policy at First Focus, says in an interview with Mary Ann Zehr, "Homeless kids don't go to school wearing a t-shirt that says, 'Hi, I'm homeless.'" When these kids are forced to leave their homes behind, they also have to leave all of their important documents. These kids have no documents of who they are. Another reason the people or officials that are looking for these kids to help them get enrolled in school and continue their education can't ever find them because these kids never stay in one place. They sleep and then move to a different place each night.
A major reason, and probably the one that is hindering the help of the funded school districts the most, is the fact that there are so many homeless children. At last count, there were over 500,000 homeless children in the United States. That number increases every single day as more children become homeless. In fact, Louisiana has the highest number of homeless children per capita (mostly because of Hurricane Katrina). In Polk County, Florida, there are over 2,100 homeless students. In St. Paul, there are over 9,000 homeless students!
"The average age of a person who is homeless is ten years old." That's just a little kid who should be in school! While some homeless children are getting an education, there are more who don't get the education they need. There are those who do actually get help. But, there are those in the un-funded counties that don't get help they need. There are also the counties that get funds to be used to help the homeless children that don't actually help the homeless children in their school district. As Barbara Duffield, Policy Director of the NAEHCY says, "Some school districts are looking more at what is cheaper, as opposed to what's going to keep this child in a stable school environment."