Friday, August 18, 2017

Homelessness And Poverty Affects Student Academic Achievement.



























There is little dispute that deep poverty is associated with poor student academic achievement.  In fact the New York Times published an article that found that one out of seven public school students are homeless.  Its a safe bet that the homeless students all suffer from deep poverty and severely affects student academic achievement.  A report by ICPH showed that 140,000 public school student have experienced homelessness in the last six years.  Moreover, the report contains a chart that finds more students who experienced homelessness are more likely to be placed in  Special Education classes and have a lower graduation rate.  More importantly, the ICPH report has a map that shows that the highest concentrations of homeless students are associated with neighborhood schools that have the lowest academic achievement. By contrast, the lowest percentage of homeless students are in schools that have the highest academic achievement.

The New York Times article, which is based upon the ICPH report, brought out some interesting statistics and I tried to summarize them as best I could.

  • There were 100,000 homeless students in the New York City Public Schools in 2015-16 .
  •  If current trends continue 1 out of every 7 elementary school children will experience homelessness
  • Rising homelessness is due to the housing crisis caused by higher rents, dwindling State and Federal aid, and the elimination of the State rental assistance program. .
  • The typical homeless elementary school student missed 88 days of the school year.
  • Homeless students are more likely to drop out or get suspended.
  • Bayside Queens had the lowest amount of homeless students, while Belmont and Fordham  sections of the Bronx had the largest amount.
Finally, students who experience homelessness are more likely to transfer schools more frequently, are delayed in getting needed supports, and are subject to a host of negative factors that make academic achievement more difficult. 




5 comments:

  1. Tremendous problem that isn't getting enough attention. We need to set up Kubbitzes in the South Bronx. Schools, living, dining and true parenting under one roof.

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  2. Anonymous1:22 PM

    DOE and Danielson does not care about the effects of homelessness on our students. Your job is still on the line. The whippings will continue as normal come September.

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  3. Anonymous2:47 PM

    It takes a Village to get rid of a Senior Teacher who has Mastered his or her Craft! NYC and the DOE have not a clue to deal with the Social Issues facing the Educational System here. They will try to reinvent the wheel every few years. They will come up with a catch phrase for something that was tried before and failed. It is all Smoke and Mirrors, a Facade. But rest assured one thing is real, they are gunning for Senior teachers! Looking to oust them any which way. Make Sure that your lesson plan is good, and that you have implemented Danielson, and all of the other minutia they want, because that is going to fix the problem for the Homeless and Poverty Stricken Kids, or it will fix the problem for the Principal's budgets, which seem to be the DOE's #1 Concern! ATR's Be Careful out there!







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  4. Anonymous3:16 PM

    This is only ONE of the issues many NYC public school students face. Yes, the whipping will continue - increase the passing percentage, inflate the grades and turn the other way to changing exam scores to meet quotas. The whipping will continue in September indeed with an additional concern - the decrease of budgets.

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  5. Anonymous8:14 PM

    We pass everyone in my school.
    The current and former administrations beat it into our heads that if we 'fail too many students' we will be the ones blamed and either fired (untenured) or low rated and harassed out (tenured).

    Of course they didn't 'phrase' it that way directly, but indirectly and through actions. I have 6 years to go until early retirement. I hope I can make it.

    On a more important note, the homeless population is exploding, so why do we keep importing more poor people from other countries?

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