The Homeless Family and School

Special Issues and Accommodations for Homeless Students

"Whose job is it to recognize a child from a homeless family?"

• The school office manager?
• The district homeless liaison?
• The school counselor?
• The classroom teacher?

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The answer, of course is "it's everyone's job." But change the question to this:

"Who has the greatest opportunity to recognize a child from a homeless family?"

Only one answer remains: The classroom teacher.

Office managers may recognize signs when a family registers, but many kids become homeless after that. The homeless liaison is not in daily contact with the students and the school counselor doesn't see every child or youth every day.

But we do.

Support Starts with Recognition

It would be much easier if a parent would simply show up one day and state, "We've become homeless." Many, however, don't know that their situation qualifies and many more are embarrassed...or afraid of the reaction of child protective authorities if they bring attention to their situation.

For a new teacher, it can be difficult to picture how homelessness looks from the perspective of homeless children or youths, especially because it can take so many different forms. And the impacts of living in a homeless family can show up differently in the classroom.

Case studies can give us a sense of what to look for.

The discussion on the homelessness recognition and reporting page - as well as the downloadable checklist - will give you tools you need to ensure that our obligations to help out homeless children and youth are met.

Fitting in

Every child wants to fit in, but more importantly, as they get older, they don't want to stand out. Social awareness increases with age, and a student who is comparing herself to peers will start to notice that her living situation is a potential source of embarrassment.

At the elementary level, where things are more more black-and-white, perceptions may center around:

• Clothing
• Backpacks
• Bikes and other toys
• Having friends over
• Hygiene awareness

In middle school and beyond:

• Cell phones
• Laptops
• Money to hang out and eat
• Having friends over
• Hygiene awareness
• Cars

Teachers can do more in the elementary grades to level the playing field, since there is nearly always a source of clothing and backpacks available to most schools. In middle and high school, a teacher can provide the best impact by simply ensuring inclusion in the classroom and that classroom routines don't make the student stand out.

Providing what Homeless Students Need...
Not What They Want

This site is about classroom reality, not fantasy. I would be remiss if I failed to mention a sense of entitlement that can creep into the child of a homeless family. This usually relates to possessions, rather than accommodations made in the classroom.

At some point, a homeless student may begin to develop a feeling that they are owed "things"...because things seem to be provided whenever they are needed. This is not greed, it is simple deductive reasoning on their parts.

But it is not healthy or productive to encourage this. For example (as has happened in my class), if the school provides a backpack and the next week the student is looking for another one because they didn't keep track of the original...the answer is "no...go find it."

Homeless Student Support Articles

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