SOUTH CAROLINA: Richland 1 embraces its
homeless youth
District tailors programs for 1,000
The (Columbia, SC) State
By ELLYDE ROKO
Staff Writer
Originally published January 23, 2005
A student sitting behind a desk in a classroom might not evoke the image of homelessness.
But across the state, 5,805 students were considered homeless during the 2003-04 school year.
Of those, 982 attended schools in Richland 1. That means that 4 percent of the district’s 24,700 students were identified as homeless — on average, one in almost every class.
To educate these students, Richland 1 reaches beyond the walls of the classrooms.
The district takes on that responsibility, says Superintendent Ronald Epps, because a child’s basic needs must be met before educational needs can be addressed.
“There’s no way we can leave the education of these children to chance,” Epps said. “We’ve got to be able to reach them wherever they are and whatever circumstance they have.”
That means:
• Rerouting buses to take students staying at shelters or with relatives to the school they were attending before becoming homeless. The district sometimes even pays for a taxicab to take a student to school.
• Richland 1 dispatches tutors to six area shelters, recognizing that being homeless can distract from homework.
• Federal funding to assist homeless students pays for things like field trips or the instrument rental fee for a student who wants to be in band.
• Teachers, guidance counselors and social workers often supply homeless students with clothes and school supplies.
For many of these students, school is the one constant at a time when they don’t know where they will get their next meal or spend the next night.
They are children whose families are jumping from one relative’s house to another. They are students who stay at shelters or sleep in cars.
Sometimes, they are high school students, living on their own at shelters where the school bus picks them up in the morning.
Most often, these children are in elementary school.
Their parents frequently are too consumed with trying to put a roof over their children’s heads to concentrate on education, said Deborah Boone, who coordinates services for homeless students in Richland 1.
“For many of these families, school might not be a priority,” she said.
Richland 1 assumes the duty of helping the students because each one needs to be ready to learn.
But district officials also recognize that school is the one place where each child eventually will end up.
“For the school to provide that stable, caring environment can make all the difference,” said Kevin Swick, a College of Education professor at the University of South Carolina who teaches a course on homelessness for Richland 1 employees. “This may be the most stable place in their life.”
District employees working with homeless students embrace that role.
On Wednesday, Boone dropped off clothes and school supplies for an 18-year-old A.C. Flora High School student staying at the Beth and Lou Holtz Winter Shelter.
District officials are trying to make sure he has the support he needs to graduate.
“We know his situation, and we can check on him every day,” Yvonne Murray, a social worker with the district. “He understands the value in education. He realizes that school is very important, and he wants to complete school.”
In part, Richland 1 has a large number of homeless students because families often go to one of the city’s shelters.
Richland 2 and Lexington County districts each reported a handful of homeless students; Kershaw listed 78.
But children and families make up the fastest-growing segment of the homeless population, according to the Institute for Children and Poverty.
Under the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, districts must provide each homeless student with the resources needed to receive an education. That covers everything from transportation to school from wherever they are staying temporarily to school supplies or uniforms.
“It’s not like a student has to, because they find themselves homeless, say, ‘We can’t go to school,’” Murray said. “We have students who are homeless every day, and they’re still attending school.”
Not only does the district provide some consistency in the student’s life, but Richland 1 teachers, guidance counselors and social workers provide an important link to resources for homeless families.
In South Carolina, Richland 1 is one of 12 districts that receive federal funding to provide services for homeless students. The district is using part of its three-year, annual $60,000 McKinney-Vento grant to provide tutors at six shelters.
In addition, the district uses about $25,000 in federal Title 1 money, which targets impoverished students, to assist homeless students.
The district tries to reach out to every homeless child, but parents can be difficult to reach or might be scared someone will take their child away, Boone said.
Of the students identified, the district helps between 200 and 300 each year, she said.
“It’s not something people easily embrace,” she said.
While identifying the children often is difficult, it is an important ingredient for making sure they have the tools for success.
“Knowing the situations our kids come from, we can more accurately assist them and provide the support they need,” Epps said.
The district offers a course for teachers on how to spot signs of homelessness and how they can help, like putting families in touch with service providers.
“What we want more than anything is to have some stability in that child’s life so that child’s education will not be interrupted,” said Toni Kelly-Campbell, coordinator for school social work services in Richland 1.
Often, the distraction of being homeless can hurt academic performance.
“When you’re wondering where you’re going to spend the night, it’s hard to concentrate on that math homework,” said B-Linda Rogers, dean of student affairs at Hand Middle School.
So the district tries to eliminate every barrier to achievement.
Federal law requires school districts to provide transportation to the school the student was attending before becoming homeless, even if the family is living outside the school attendance area or district.
In some cases, like when a student must cross district lines, the two districts will split the cost of that child taking a taxicab to school.
“To switch schools because you’re homeless, that’s kind of a double whammy,” Helena Beyersdorf-Cottle, director of the Family Shelter.
The idea is to avoid school-hopping.
“When students move from school to school, their grades suffer, their achievement suffers,” Kelly-Campbell said.
By doing what they can to make sure homeless students receive an education, educators also are doing what they can to prevent homelessness.
Education remains the most effective tool for reducing the number of homeless people, officials said.
“To break the cycle of homelessness, kids have to be in school,” Swick said.
And, regardless of requirements and legislation, educators who work with homeless students simply want to see them succeed.
“You see these kids day in, day out,” Rogers said. “You get attached to them. You just want what’s best for them.”
“You do what needs to be done.”
Reach Ellyde Roko at (803) 771-8409 or eroko@thestate.com.