Homeless Students and Absenteeism

By Maribel Maria, Policy Associate, HFH and Robyn Schwartz, Policy Advisor, HFH Students’ attendance rates are in the spotlight once again, with media highlighting the rising rates of absenteeism among students across New York City and the nation.1 Notably lacking in many news reports is attention to the alarming absenteeism trends among students experiencing homelessness. More…

Read More

NYC’s Fair Student Funding Should Include Weights for Students in Temporary Housing + in Shelter

By Caroline Iosso, Senior Policy Associate, Homes for the Homeless (HFH) This month, the Fair Student Funding (FSF) working group, convened by the New York City Department of Education (NYC DOE), will present a list of recommendations for reforming New York City public school system’s Fair Student Funding metric. This metric determines 60% of each…

Read More

Over 80% of Students Experiencing Homelessness Are Not Considered Eligible for All Homeless Services

Student homelessness is at an all-time high, with over 1.5 million children nationwide experiencing homelessness over the course of the 2017-18 school year. That is the sobering verdict of a new report released by the National Center on Homeless Education (NCHE). This record-breaking total is an 11% increase over the previous school year and a…

Read More

Identifying a Crisis: How Montana Transformed its Approach to Rural Student Homelessness

Across America, the number of students experiencing homelessness in rural communities is rising at an unprecedented pace. Montana saw a staggering 145% increase between school years 2013–14 and 2016–17—more than 48 times the 3% national growth rate and second only to Nebraska’s 200% increase. But what accounts for this rapid ‘growth’? Indisputably, the increase of…

Read More

3 Pitfalls of Mid-year Transfers for Homeless ELL Students

One in six English Language Learners (ELLs) in New York City public schools is homeless. While learning science, math, and social studies, these students face the added challenge of learning the English language. Adding to the instability of homelessness, it is common for homeless students to transfer schools mid-year; 22,188 homeless students transferred mid-year in…

Read More