Schools Lost Track of Homeless Kids during Pandemic
2023-08-11
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1During the coronavirus pandemic, many schools struggled to keep a count of students whose families struggled with homelessness.
2The number of children identified as homeless by schools nationwide dropped by 21 percent from the 2018-2019 school year to the 2020-2021 school year, federal data found.
3That decrease represented more than 288,000 students.
4But it is likely there were many students whose schools did not know they were homeless.
5By the time Aaliyah Ibarra started second grade, her family had moved five times in four years in search of housing.
6As she was about to start a new school, her mother, Bridget Ibarra, saw how much it was affecting Aaliyah's education.
7At 8 years old, Aaliyah did not know the alphabet.
8Her family's struggles came during the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced Aaliyah to begin school online.
9Online school was especially hard for Aaliyah because she was homeless.
10And, like thousands of other students across the country, her school did not know.
11By not being identified as homeless, such students lose out on important support like transportation, clothes-cleaning services and other help.
12Two years later, the effects have worsened.
13Students nationwide have struggled to make up for missed learning.
14And educators have lost important time identifying who needs the most help.
15Schools are offering services like tutoring and counseling.
16But schools now have limited time left to spend federal pandemic assistance money for homeless students, said Barbara Duffield.
17She is director of SchoolHouse Connection, a national homelessness organization.
18Many education leaders, Duffield said, do not even know about federal money meant to support homeless students.
19The federal support ends next year.
20In Bridget Ibarra's case, she chose not to tell the school her children were homeless.
21She said that teachers never asked.
22She was worried if officials knew the family was staying in a shelter, the family would face pressure to attend a different school that was closer to the shelter.
23The stigma that comes with homelessness also can lead families not to tell anyone they do not have housing, Duffield said.
24If schools cannot identify homeless children, "we can't ensure that they have everything they need to be successful in school and even go to school," Duffield added.
25Aaliyah's school is in Phoenix, Arizona.
26It continued with online learning for her whole kindergarten year.
27Aaliyah and her older brother spent most of their school days on computers in a temporary classroom at the shelter.
28While the shelter helped the family meet their basic needs, Ibarra said she often asked the school for extra help for her daughter.
29She felt the school was giving all its attention to Aaliyah's older brother because he is a special education student.
30That means he has been identified as needing extra educational support.
31The school's principal, Sean Hannafin, said school officials met often with the children's mom. He said they offered the support they had available. But he said it was hard to know online which students required more help.
32There is a federal law aimed at making sure homeless students have equal access to education.
33The law provides rights and services to children without a "fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence."
34Many students are not identified as homeless when they sign up for school.
35At school, teachers or other school workers often notice students who may be dealing with difficulties at home.
36But with children learning online, teachers often could not see signs of problems.
37Overall, the drop in the student homelessness count began before the pandemic.
38But it became greater when the pandemic began.
39The percentage of enrolled students identified as homeless in the U.S. dropped from 2.7 percent in 2018-2019 to 2.2 percent in 2020-2021.
40Over that time, Arizona had one of the biggest drops in the number of students identified as homeless.
41Eventually, Bridget Ibarra had to send Aaliyah to a different school after moving to find new housing.
42At Aaliyah's new school, Frye Elementary, Principal Alexis Cruz Freeman saw how hard it was to communicate with families when children were not in classrooms.
43Aaliyah has improved at her new school, Cruz Freeman said.
44She still has trouble saying and reading some words.
45But by the end of the school year, she was able to read a text and write four sentences based on its meaning.
46She is also performing at her grade level in math.
47Cruz Freeman considers Aaliyah a success story in part because of her mother's support.
48"She was an advocate for her children, which is all that we can ever ask for," Cruz Freeman said.
49I'm Dan Novak.
1During the coronavirus pandemic, many schools struggled to keep a count of students whose families struggled with homelessness. 2The number of children identified as homeless by schools nationwide dropped by 21 percent from the 2018-2019 school year to the 2020-2021 school year, federal data found. That decrease represented more than 288,000 students. 3But it is likely there were many students whose schools did not know they were homeless. 4By the time Aaliyah Ibarra started second grade, her family had moved five times in four years in search of housing. As she was about to start a new school, her mother, Bridget Ibarra, saw how much it was affecting Aaliyah's education. 5At 8 years old, Aaliyah did not know the alphabet. Her family's struggles came during the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced Aaliyah to begin school online. 6Online school was especially hard for Aaliyah because she was homeless. And, like thousands of other students across the country, her school did not know. 7By not being identified as homeless, such students lose out on important support like transportation, clothes-cleaning services and other help. 8Two years later, the effects have worsened. Students nationwide have struggled to make up for missed learning. And educators have lost important time identifying who needs the most help. 9Schools are offering services like tutoring and counseling. But schools now have limited time left to spend federal pandemic assistance money for homeless students, said Barbara Duffield. She is director of SchoolHouse Connection, a national homelessness organization. 10Many education leaders, Duffield said, do not even know about federal money meant to support homeless students. The federal support ends next year. 11In Bridget Ibarra's case, she chose not to tell the school her children were homeless. She said that teachers never asked. She was worried if officials knew the family was staying in a shelter, the family would face pressure to attend a different school that was closer to the shelter. 12The stigma that comes with homelessness also can lead families not to tell anyone they do not have housing, Duffield said. 13If schools cannot identify homeless children, "we can't ensure that they have everything they need to be successful in school and even go to school," Duffield added. 14Aaliyah's school is in Phoenix, Arizona. It continued with online learning for her whole kindergarten year. Aaliyah and her older brother spent most of their school days on computers in a temporary classroom at the shelter. 15While the shelter helped the family meet their basic needs, Ibarra said she often asked the school for extra help for her daughter. She felt the school was giving all its attention to Aaliyah's older brother because he is a special education student. That means he has been identified as needing extra educational support. 16The school's principal, Sean Hannafin, said school officials met often with the children's mom. He said they offered the support they had available. But he said it was hard to know online which students required more help. 17There is a federal law aimed at making sure homeless students have equal access to education. The law provides rights and services to children without a "fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence." 18Many students are not identified as homeless when they sign up for school. At school, teachers or other school workers often notice students who may be dealing with difficulties at home. But with children learning online, teachers often could not see signs of problems. 19Overall, the drop in the student homelessness count began before the pandemic. But it became greater when the pandemic began. 20The percentage of enrolled students identified as homeless in the U.S. dropped from 2.7 percent in 2018-2019 to 2.2 percent in 2020-2021. Over that time, Arizona had one of the biggest drops in the number of students identified as homeless. 21Eventually, Bridget Ibarra had to send Aaliyah to a different school after moving to find new housing. At Aaliyah's new school, Frye Elementary, Principal Alexis Cruz Freeman saw how hard it was to communicate with families when children were not in classrooms. 22Aaliyah has improved at her new school, Cruz Freeman said. She still has trouble saying and reading some words. But by the end of the school year, she was able to read a text and write four sentences based on its meaning. She is also performing at her grade level in math. 23Cruz Freeman considers Aaliyah a success story in part because of her mother's support. "She was an advocate for her children, which is all that we can ever ask for," Cruz Freeman said. 24I'm Dan Novak. 25Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by The Associated Press. 26_____________________________________________________ 27Words in This Story 28tutor - n. a teacher who works with one student 29stigma - n. a set of negative and often unfair beliefs that a society or group of people have about something 30kindergarten - n. a school or class for very young children 31adequate - adj. enough for some need or requirement 32text - n. the original words of a piece of writing or a speech 33residence - n. the state of living in a particular place 34ensure - n. to make sure, certain, or safe 35access - adj. a way of getting near, at, or to something or someone 36advocate - n. a person who argues for or supports a cause or policy