Homeless Ranks Rise in Schools
April 16, 2006
Julia Lyon
The Salt Lake Tribune
After attending four schools in fourth grade, Keleena Mountain knows just how painful it can be to never say goodbye. Life's ups and downs have kept her family on the move, recently landing them in a Midvale homeless shelter. They often leave so quickly that Keleena doesn't have a chance to get a phone number or a final hug. "It really just depresses me," she says, looking down. "I probably won't ever get to see them again."
The child is not alone. The Jordan School District, where Keleena attends school, is seeing an ever-larger number of homeless children in its classrooms. Projected to hit a new high of about 2,100 students by the end of this school year, the growth mirrors a nationwide pattern, experts say.
"We have lots more young families who are just in dire straits," said Shelley Reed, president of the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth.
Jordan counted about 1,700 homeless students last school year, a number that equates to 2.25 percent of its student population. A year earlier, the number was 1,372. When asked why the numbers may be so high in the largely suburban district, an administrator for the state's largest district notes there are five shelters within Jordan's boundaries.
Another explanation may be suburban Salt Lake City's willingness to open its doors to friends and families in need. "One family will already have a place to live so extended family or friends will join," said Lyn Burningham, supervisor of Jordan's homeless education program. This school year, the district also has tried to aggressively identify homeless families, asking parents if they meet any of the criteria of homelessness when they register their students. In addition, it is possible the program's own success could be attracting more families in crisis, she said.
In Utah overall, the number of homeless students rose from 7,882 in the 2003-2004 school year to 9,258 in 2004-2005.Among Salt Lake area school districts, only the Salt Lake City School District, with 3.74 percent of students homeless, has a larger percentage than does Jordan.
Educators say that frequently changing schools, as homeless children often do, can leave students behind academically. They may be anxious, uncertain about what twist life may confront them with next. Making friends may seem pointless when they know they'll inevitably move on.
By federal law, children are considered homeless when they lack a “fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence,” live in a motel, car or shelter or have moved in with another family because of economic hardship, among other scenarios. The majority of the homeless students in the Jordan district are doubled up with other families.
As the homeless liaison for the Jordan district, Connie Crosby visits shelters every day and hears the many reasons someone may have come seeking a bed. Lack of affordable housing and increases in utility costs are part of the recipe in recent months. An increase in domestic violence and drug use - both methamphetamine and prescription drugs - also plays a role.
Crosby is the comforter, reassuring parents that they can almost always keep their child in the school they already attend. She can find them transportation to the school, which may simply be a school bus from the shelter. Parents call her all day asking for help. It may be that a school told a parent to provide a birth certificate or proof of immunizations before it would enroll the child. Then it is up to Crosby to explain that the law gives the parent the right to enroll their child immediately even while those documents are being chased down. School, after all, may be the only predictable thing the child has.
"If we can keep a child in one school for one academic year, that's success for that child," Crosby said.
She often gets calls from counselors about homeless families needing advice on where to get food, shelter or medical care. While they often do need extra support, these children have a lot of potential, Crosby said. "You'd be amazed at how bright these children are," she said. "They have to grow up fast living on the street."
Keleena's mom, Jacque Gray, 46, is glad Crosby helped her children stay in the same schools after watching a son get placed in different grades at different schools during a previous move. "I'm really big on stability and security," the mom said. But stability can be hard when parents find themselves in a situation they never dreamed they would be in.
Maria Becerra, 35, moved to Utah with her four kids from Phoenix to try and make a fresh start. The family lost their home two years ago when her husband lost his job as a construction worker. They stayed here with relatives until Becerra felt like she couldn't burden them any longer. Now, when she talks to her friends in Arizona, she doesn't mention the shelter if she doesn't have to.
"I ended up in a situation I know I don't want to stay in," she said.
Homeless children often experience a level of stress not typical to your average kid. They may wonder when or if they will see their parents again. "You can't tell these kids it's an unrealistic fear, because it's not [unrealistic] that their parents may not be there when they get out of school," said Rob Jones, a Jordan School District psychologist at Oakdale Elementary in Sandy. "They may not be living in the same place at the end of the week. They may not have any food."
Even their speaking skills and their vocabulary could be behind their peers' because they have little access to books or their parents are too stressed to talk to their children at their level. That makes school all the more difficult. "You can't teach reading without a vocabulary base," Jones said.
Like other districts, Jordan offers a range of services for homeless students. Using federal dollars, the district pays for teachers to tutor at the shelters in an after-school program. Jordan helps provide backpacks and school supplies with the federal money and runs a summer school program targeted at migrant, homeless, American Indian and low-income youth.
If getting to school is a problem, the district helps with transportation costs to keep the student in the same school. That could be through TRAX and bus passes or gas cards for parents.
Sharon Aitken, a third-grade teacher at Midvale Elementary School, says her other students often have questions about the new little faces in the room and wonder what happens to them when they're gone. "As a teacher I kind of wonder, too,” she said. “Are they back in school getting that education?”