Housing Important for Keeping Children in School
2023-11-08
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1Last year, 40 percent of students in Los Angeles public schools missed more than 10 percent of the school year.
2That information comes from the Los Angeles Unified School District, which says about 429,000 students are enrolled in its schools.
3In addition to the attendance numbers, the district's website says its officials did not know where 2,500 students were.
4These students stopped attending class and did not appear to enroll anywhere else.
5Elmer Roldan is executive director of Communities in Schools of Los Angeles, a nonprofit group that aims to keep children in school.
6He said, "Housing is the biggest reason kids aren't going to school or we can't find them."
7The Associated Press (AP) recently reported on a case of one of those children whose housing situation led to problems at school.
8Fifteen-year-old Deneffy Sánchez has faced housing problems with his family for years.
9An AP reporter spoke with the teenager and his family.
10Deneffy lives with his mother Lilian Lopez and a 3-year-old sister.
11Lopez had been having a hard time keeping up with monthly rent payments in an earlier apartment.
12So the family of three shared a small living space with Fabiola Del Castillo, someone they did not know.
13As they fell behind on rent payments again, Del Castillo wanted to give up the apartment and pressured the family to leave.
14To fight the threat of losing their home, Deneffy stayed in the apartment - and missed school.
15Federal data shows that the majority of students the government considers "homeless" have a place to stay.
16But the situation is often complex with shared roommates and an unsure future.
17In Los Angeles, the city's superintendent said last spring that 13,000 students were homeless and 2,000 of them stayed in city shelters.
18In Deneffy's case, his family was struggling to stay in their small apartment.
19His father has not been with them. His mother immigrated from Guatemala 22 years ago.
20In 2020, after his mother gave birth to Jennifer, his sister, the family was homeless.
21That year, schools across the country closed because of the spread of COVID-19.
22Deneffy tried to attend seventh-grade classes online through Zoom but said he could not pay attention.
23"I felt like they were judging me," he said.
24By ninth grade, classes became more difficult, and his family did not have internet service at home.
25Deneffy's grades crashed. His school offered help with homework.
26But AP reported the boy said that he really wanted a therapist.
27Deneffy spoke to the school's "psychiatric social worker" to see if she could help him get mental health counseling.
28But demand for such help increased sharply during the pandemic.
29In 2021, an opinion study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 42 percent of high school students said they felt sad or hopeless a lot compared to 28 percent ten years before.
30After leaving the apartment shared with Castillo, Deneffy's family had another bad experience sharing a place.
31Then they found a place where they could live without roommates through an old friend.
32The apartment is small and costs $1250 to rent each month.
33That is more than Deneffy's mother makes from government assistance and cleaning jobs.
34The 15-year-old now has a laptop computer provided by the school and a wireless connection to help with schoolwork.
35He has the most trouble with writing. "I never know where to put the commas and other punctuation," he said.
36He also sees a therapist at school once a week. But he is worried that his family's new living situation might change.
37His mother needs to find a full-time job to meet the rent payments.
38Speaking of his mother, Deneffy says she tells him not to worry.
39"But I do," he said. "What if we don't have money, and we get kicked out again?"
40I'm Mario Ritter, Jr.
1Last year, 40 percent of students in Los Angeles public schools missed more than 10 percent of the school year. 2That information comes from the Los Angeles Unified School District, which says about 429,000 students are enrolled in its schools. 3In addition to the attendance numbers, the district's website says its officials did not know where 2,500 students were. These students stopped attending class and did not appear to enroll anywhere else. 4Elmer Roldan is executive director of Communities in Schools of Los Angeles, a nonprofit group that aims to keep children in school. He said, "Housing is the biggest reason kids aren't going to school or we can't find them." 5The Associated Press (AP) recently reported on a case of one of those children whose housing situation led to problems at school. 6Fifteen-year-old Deneffy Sánchez has faced housing problems with his family for years. An AP reporter spoke with the teenager and his family. 7Deneffy lives with his mother Lilian Lopez and a 3-year-old sister. Lopez had been having a hard time keeping up with monthly rent payments in an earlier apartment. So the family of three shared a small living space with Fabiola Del Castillo, someone they did not know. 8As they fell behind on rent payments again, Del Castillo wanted to give up the apartment and pressured the family to leave. To fight the threat of losing their home, Deneffy stayed in the apartment - and missed school. 9Federal data shows that the majority of students the government considers "homeless" have a place to stay. But the situation is often complex with shared roommates and an unsure future. In Los Angeles, the city's superintendent said last spring that 13,000 students were homeless and 2,000 of them stayed in city shelters. 10In Deneffy's case, his family was struggling to stay in their small apartment. His father has not been with them. His mother immigrated from Guatemala 22 years ago. In 2020, after his mother gave birth to Jennifer, his sister, the family was homeless. 11That year, schools across the country closed because of the spread of COVID-19. Deneffy tried to attend seventh-grade classes online through Zoom but said he could not pay attention. "I felt like they were judging me," he said. 12By ninth grade, classes became more difficult, and his family did not have internet service at home. Deneffy's grades crashed. His school offered help with homework. But AP reported the boy said that he really wanted a therapist. 13Deneffy spoke to the school's "psychiatric social worker" to see if she could help him get mental health counseling. But demand for such help increased sharply during the pandemic. 14In 2021, an opinion study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 42 percent of high school students said they felt sad or hopeless a lot compared to 28 percent ten years before. 15After leaving the apartment shared with Castillo, Deneffy's family had another bad experience sharing a place. Then they found a place where they could live without roommates through an old friend. The apartment is small and costs $1250 to rent each month. That is more than Deneffy's mother makes from government assistance and cleaning jobs. 16The 15-year-old now has a laptop computer provided by the school and a wireless connection to help with schoolwork. He has the most trouble with writing. "I never know where to put the commas and other punctuation," he said. 17He also sees a therapist at school once a week. But he is worried that his family's new living situation might change. His mother needs to find a full-time job to meet the rent payments. 18Speaking of his mother, Deneffy says she tells him not to worry. "But I do," he said. "What if we don't have money, and we get kicked out again?" 19I'm Mario Ritter, Jr. 20Bianca Vásquez Toness reported this story for the Associated Press. Mario Ritter, Jr. adapted it for VOA Learning English. 21______________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23enrolled -adj. to be accepted into a school and fully able to attend classes 24rent -n. the regular payment for living in or using a property or equipment you do not own 25therapist -n. a person trained to treat sickness generally without the use of drugs or medical operations 26psychiatric -adj. related to the branch of medicine targeting emotional and mental disorders 27punctuation -n. the marks between words that make it easier to read and understand writing 28We want to hear from you. Our comment policy is here.