The increasing number of homeless families and the problems facing the American education system have both been extensively discussed in the media, and on our blog.  Considered together, they raise another question: How are homeless children faring in school?

According to new federal data, nearly one million homeless students attended public schools from 2008-09, a 41% increase over the previous two years. An August 5 article by City Limits News describes the academic situation for many homeless youth in New York City.

According to the article, the number one challenge facing homeless youth is the high degree of mobility in their lives. Frequently switching schools poses the biggest learning obstacle for homeless youth, says Dr. John Buckner, an assistant professor of psychology at Harvard Children’s Hospital who has studied the effects of homelessness on children for over thirty years.

One public school teacher quoted in the article lamented how frequent moves often resulted in the  lack of a “paper trail” for many homeless students. She said,

“The children would move so much their records never actually caught up with them, so as a teacher I had to constantly try to figure out what each child knew. Many of these children had such spotty attendance it was nearly impossible to decide on promotion. Very often the children would be in Queens one day and next in the Bronx if an apartment was available. No thought or consideration was given to consistency in their education.”

According to Jennifer Pringle, director for the New York State Technical Education Assistance Center for Homeless Students (NYS-TEACHS), the stress caused by adjusting to shelter life and seeking a new home can have a ripple effect that impacts family relationships, academic performance and mental health.

The typical outcome? Homeless students miss school more often, have higher dropout rates, lower graduation rates, and are held back more often than students with permanent housing. Pringle says,

“It’s just incredibly difficult and stressful for kids. There’s no privacy, there’s no quiet space where kids can do their homework. And then the stress the parents are under in finding permanent housing and dealing with having just lost their housing. These kinds of emotional stresses that are on families are just incredible, and I think that manifests itself in many different ways on kids.”

Fortunately, the article offered hope for success. One daughter of a homeless mother who was interviewed for the article was on the honor roll, another was a “peer mediator.” A 2003 Buckner study proved that positive role models can help promote “resilience” in children facing difficult odds–i.e. the “emotional well-being and support systems necessary to succeed in school.” Only 29% of the homeless youth in the study had these characteristics, but the study at least provides a source of inspiration for homeless youth programs.

Accordingly, a recently published University of Colorado study of techniques used at a preventative care center for foster-care children found that mental health improved in children who received one-one-one mentoring. The study, which was conducted from July 2002 to January 2009 in two Colorado counties, found children benefited from mentoring in skills development in areas like emotion recognition, problem solving, anger management, healthy relationships, peer pressure and abuse prevention.

And according to Attorney General Eric Holder, at a May 6 Senate Appropriations Committee hearing:

“There is a direct correlation between schools that work, between mentoring efforts, between high levels of employment. All those things counter crime – are good crime fighting measures.”

All of this information corroborates the findings of a recent study we shared from the journal Molecular Psychiatry about the value of a parent’s love in promoting mental health and positive life outcomes. At Here’s Life, we believe that a loving environment with strong spirtual, emotional and intellectual support promotes positive life outcomes.  This is why we offer children guidance and fun at our S.A.Y. Yes! afterschool centers. Check them out here and be sure to get engaged with our many programs and ministry activities.

Here’s Life Inner City does not endorse the opinions presented in the documents, web sites, etc. we link to, nor do we endorse the organizations to whom we may refer/link to. All material is presented on this blog for the purposes of education and igniting discussion.