Liz Bocklet
When I graduate college, I hope to be a teacher. It took me a long time to figure out that this was what I wanted to do with the rest of my life, mainly because I didn’t have a wonderful K-12 experience. I suffer from an invisible disability and because of it, I struggled a lot with having teachers who lacked compassion. They didn’t understand and didn’t try to understand what I was going through. I despised going to school because I didn’t feel like I had the support I needed. I decided to become a teacher because I want to provide that kind of support and compassion to future students that I was not given. I want my future classroom to be a safe space, where I have done everything in my power to provide every student with the tools for success. I want to always try to understand what students may be going through and to always show compassion. When Professor Bailie asked the class to create a research question relating to housing injustice in Cincinnati, I realized that this was the opportunity for me to learn more about students experiencing homelessness and the ways that teachers can support them. This brings me to pose my question, how can teachers help students experiencing homelessness within the classroom?
To begin my research, I need to understand how many students are experiencing homelessness in Cincinnati. For this research, I will be looking at the Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS) District. According to an article from WCPO 9 Cincinnati, CPS has around 3,000 students currently experiencing homelessness and is expecting this number to be over 4,000 by the end of the school year (Hart). Project Connect, a service CPS has for families of students experiencing homelessness, says that they serve approximately 3,500 students per year (About). The number of students within CPS is approximately 36,000 students (About US). This means that nearly 10% of students within CPS are experiencing homelessness. Furthermore, Project Connect also included a fun facts section on their webpage, where I learned that families make up 40% of the homeless population and that the average age of a person experiencing homelessness is only 9 years old (About).
As I was gathering these numbers, a few more questions began to arise. What is leading to so many students and families experiencing homelessness in Cincinnati? What are some of the signs that a student may be experiencing homelessness and what are the effects of homelessness on students? These questions require further research, all except the reason these numbers are continuing to rise. From reading Econocide by Alice Skirtz, it seems that a lack of affordable housing is to blame. With policies made to eliminate affordable housing, many families have been living in a nightmare (Skirtz 29). Furthermore, social services that people experiencing homelessness in Over-The-Rhine and the West End began disappearing (Skirtz 31). Behind these actions that are detrimental to people experiencing homelessness is greed, as the city planning is operating through private businesses (Skirtz 101). This shifting of power pushes off responsibility until lower-income people and people experiencing homelessness are left forgotten entirely.
The next step in my research is to learn about the signs that a student may be experiencing homelessness. Understanding the signs that a student might be experiencing homelessness is important for teachers as it will allow them, and one day me, to be aware of what students may be going through. As for warning signs that a student may be experiencing homelessness, the National Center for Homeless Education (NCHE) has a printout with a long list of signs to watch out for. Some examples include missing school records, frequent switching schools, poor health or nutrition, attendance, reliable transportation problems, poor hygiene, frequently missed assignments, and frequent lack of preparation for school (Potential). Other signs focus more on behavioral issues, such as extreme shyness, trouble socializing with peers, being considered an old soul, anxiety, and poor self-esteem (Potential). It’s important to note that these signs are not sure-fire indicators, but they can be present in students experiencing homelessness and should not be ignored.
Signs such as these, although not perfect indicators of homelessness, are often the most visible effects of homelessness on students. I also need to understand what other effects a student experiencing homelessness experiences to learn how teachers can best support them. An article by Joseph F. Murphy and Kerri J. Tobin called “Homelessness Comes to School: How Homeless Children and Youths Can Succeed” speaks on some of the issues that students experiencing homelessness may face. These issues include being below a grade level at a higher rate than housed students, being held back a grade level at a higher rate, and lower high school graduation rates (Murphy, Torbin 33-34). In fact, according to this article, fewer than a quarter of students experiencing homelessness make it to high school graduation (Murphy, Torbin 33). An article by Head Start Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center, which is connected to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services explains some of the health challenges that students experiencing homelessness might face such as difficulty accessing regular healthcare, poor nutrition, hunger, and trauma (Caring). Also mentioned is that children experiencing homelessness are twice as likely to get sick, have double the rate of learning disabilities, and triple the rate of emotional and behavioral problems (Caring).
Now that I understand the prevalence of children experiencing homelessness and some of the root causes of the rising numbers of homelessness in Cincinnati as well as the effects of homelessness on students and signs that a student might be experiencing homelessness, I am ready to look into some ideas on how I, as a future teacher, would be able to help these students. To begin this portion of the research, I decided to start with what protections and services are available to students experiencing homelessness. An article from Schoolhouse Connection called Tips for Teachers & Staff: How to Support Students Experiencing Homelessness goes into detail on the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, which is a federal law addressing students experiencing homelessness. The McKinney-Vento Homelessness Act allows students to stay at one school, even if their temporary living situation is located outside the school district, to be enrolled in school immediately, regardless of whether they have the required documents, to participate in all school-sponsored extracurricular activities, and requires all educational agencies to have a homeless liaison (Lee). One tip brought forth by Schoolhouse Connection is to be familiar with the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act and to contact a homeless liaison if a student needs support (Lee). For CPS, Project Connect services many students experiencing homelessness.
Project Connect is CPS’s services available for students experiencing homelessness. Project Connect helps students with enrollment, attendance, and transportation to school (About). Project Connect also supports students by distributing school supplies, providing uniforms and clothing, securing free lunches, and arranging tutors for students (About). Project Connect is where CPS teachers, students, and families can reach out to a homeless liaison (About). This is really important information for me to know. I have no plans of leaving Cincinnati and should I work in a CPS school, I must be familiar with the services CPS has available to students and families experiencing homelessness.
Another way to support students experiencing homelessness is to be cautious with language. For example, students experiencing homelessness may not feel comfortable sharing if the question is “What did you do this weekend?” but questions that focus on the present and at school may provide more open sharing like “What are you looking forward to at school this week?” (Lee). Education Connection also recommends using “grown-ups” instead of “parents” to be sensitive about family life (Lee). Furthermore, teachers and schools need to address some of students’ other needs such as food or hygiene products. School can be tough but when basic needs such as food aren’t being met, school can be nearly impossible. Having snacks and hygiene products available for students may take some of the pressure off, allowing school to be a little easier (Lee). Interestingly, this was something I already had planned on including in my future classroom. I plan on having a “take what you need” closet in my classroom. This would include snacks, microwavable meals, hygiene products, and feminine hygiene products. My thought process is that this closet would take some pressure off of students experiencing homelessness or financial problems but wouldn’t be isolating as it’s available for any student, for any reason. Supporting students experiencing homelessness in the classroom also means using effective instruction methods. One such method is to have lessons begin and end on the same day, breaking up assignments into more manageable chunks, which is shown to be effective with students experiencing homelessness (Murphy, Torbin 35).
One perspective I wanted to include was from the teachers themselves. I found an article from We Are Teachers that includes ways to support students experiencing homelessness from teachers. One such way is to welcome the student personally to the classroom by checking with the student regularly as well as building the student up by recognizing their strengths (Mulvahill). Another way is to create a sense of stability at school (Mulvahill). This can be done by creating stable routines and assuring that work can be finished at school so that the student doesn’t have to worry about taking it home (Mulvahill). One more very important way teachers can support students is to ensure that they have access to all of the same opportunities as housed students, which means working with the administration to ensure they are still able to participate in field trips, class projects, and after-school activities (Mulvahill).
In conclusion, there are many ways that teachers can support students experiencing homelessness including using conscious language, creating stability at school, making sure assignments can be finished at school, trying to fill the gaps where possible by making snacks and hygiene products available, using the resources made available by the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, and assuring that all students can participate in all school-sponsored activities. These are all steps that I will personally take when I am a teacher one day because school is tough, I know first-hand how stressful it can be when you need support but can’t find it. This research paper gave me the opportunity to get a head start on understanding some of the issues students I teach one day might face and for that, I am immensely thankful. Now I have not only a sense of understanding that I didn’t previously but I also know what steps I can take to support future students, which is my ultimate goal for when I am a teacher.
Works Cited
“About Project Connect .” Project Connect, 2024, www.cps-k12.org/projectconnect.
“About Us / Home.” / Home, 2024, www.cps-k12.org/domain/93#:~:text=Cincinnati%20Public%20Schools%20is%20Greater,mile%20district%20in%20southwest%20Ohio.
“Caring for the Health and Wellness of Children Experiencing Homelessness.” ECLKC, 15 Feb. 2024, eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/publication/caring-health-wellness-children-experiencing-homelessness.
Hart, Jessica. “CPS: Student Homelessness Continues to Be a Growing Issue That Needs City’s Support.” WCPO 9 Cincinnati, WCPO 9 Cincinnati, 19 Jan. 2024, www.wcpo.com/news/education/cincinnati-public-schools/cps-student-homelessness-continues-to-be-a-growing-issue-that-needs-citys-support#:~:text=CPS%20has%20identified%20around%203%2C000,the%202022%2D23%20school%20year.
Lee, Leconte. “Tips for Teachers & Staff: How to Support Students Experiencing Homelessness.” SchoolHouse Connection, 15 Aug. 2022, schoolhouseconnection.org/tips-for-teachers-staff-how-to-support-students-experiencing-homelessness/.
Mulvahill, Elizabeth. “How Teachers Can Support Students Experiencing Homelessness.” We Are Teachers, 2 Feb. 2022, www.weareteachers.com/homeless-students/.
Murphy, Joseph F., and Kerri J. Tobin. “Homelessness Comes to School: How Homeless Children and Youths Can Succeed.” The Phi Delta Kappan, vol. 93, no. 3, 2011, pp. 32–37. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/23048917. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
“Potential Warning Signs of Homelessness.” National Center for Homeless Education, Oct. 2022, nche.ed.gov/potential-warning-signs-of-homelessness/.
Skirtz, Alice. Econocide: Elimination of the Urban Poor. NASW Press, 2012.