
Supporting Our Homeless Students
At the beginning of each school year, more than a million students enter classrooms carrying more than a backpack — they carry the heavy load of being homeless. These students didn’t get a say about their living situation, and they must balance the demands of being a student with a persistent sense of loss, fear, and instability. Across the country, far too many of our students are facing an obstacle that no child should have to face, and educators can no longer sit on the sidelines of a growing crisis in our schools.
Since the 2010–11 school year, homelessness for K–12 students has risen by 19 percent, according to the Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness. Children who are homeless are more likely to struggle with grades and receive lower test scores than students who have housing stability. Frequent moves affect more than grades; they take an emotional toll on kids. Receiving social services becomes difficult amid a constant shuffle of locations and addresses. Some districts struggle with transition plans for these students and, as a result, may be unable to provide comfort and support due to a lack of on-site resources.
Ensuring that each child is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged requires ingenuity, creativity, and persistence. Homeless students don’t just face instability in housing — their family life is also often chaotic and coupled with stress, embarrassment, and a living environment that may not be safe. Students may not know when or where they’ll get their next meal or how long they’ll be in school.
Educators Need to Respond
It is time for all of us to prioritize the complex issues facing homeless students through policies and directives that provide them with stability and support, such as easier enrollment as required by law, assessing students’ needs, and training staff to provide and refer additional services as needed.
Local education authorities are required to appoint a local homeless education liaison to ensure that homeless youth are identified, are enrolled in school, and receive the services for which they and their family are eligible. At the school level, principals and staff should seek to implement policies beyond the requirements of federal law to create enhanced communications between schools during transfers and moves and make school a stable and caring, safe haven for students.
School counselors and social workers also play an important role in discovering the needs of each child, training staff, and helping families connect with community resources. These important support staff can also create “New Student Kits” that include school supplies and a welcome card, and counselors can work with school staff to ensure that schools receive students’ records as quickly as possible during school transfers.
Families are crucial to the success of their children, so it’s important that they feel valued as partners in their children’s education. Families experiencing the trauma associated with homelessness crave being valued. Students will benefit most when they realize that all adults with whom they come in contact are working diligently to ensure they are healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged.
I am a firm believer that the true measure of a society’s greatness is in its treatment of its most vulnerable people. As educators, we have a responsibility to address the needs of our homeless youth, delivering the message that we believe in them and their success for the future.
