Educating Homeless Children in Allegheny County

1. Educating Homeless Children in Allegheny County An Evaluation of Families and Services

2. About HCEF ….. • 501(c)(3) not-for-profit founded in 1999 • Partners with 17 shelters, transitional, & permanent housing sites for homeless families in Allegheny County to deliver resources, funds, and education based afterschool and summer programs • Advocacy & Awareness: to the general public and with legislators and government offices • Provides an opportunity for the public to participate/assist in meeting the educational needs of homeless children

3. Our Target Service Population • Emergency Shelters, Bridge, Transitional and Permanent Housing facilities • Children and youth grades K-12 • Shelter staff working directly with children and parents • Parents • Volunteers

4. An Evaluation of Homeless Families and Services • Collaboration between HCEF, Duquesne University, and Allegheny County Department of Human Services

5. Principal Investigators • Dr. James B. Schreiber, Associate Professor, Duquesne University, Department of Foundations and Leadership • Dr. Peter Miller, Assistant Professor, U Wisconsin-Madison (formerly Duquesne University) Dept. of Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis

6. Data Collection • Study conducted in Spring 2009 • Surveyed 20 Allegheny County agencies that serve homeless family populations • 139 parents responded, 40 agency staff, and 51 interviews with parents were conducted, more taking place now • Researchers also had access to Allegheny County DHS Statistics

7. Major Findings • 1. Diversity of homeless families in Allegheny County • 2. Homeless families’ problems in school • 3. Parent advocacy and barriers to involvement

8. Major Findings continued… • 4. Effectiveness of agency-based after school learning centers • 5. Importance of agency-school-community communication • 6. Roles of relationships in education of homeless students

9. Major Finding #1 • There is great diversity among homeless families with school age children in Allegheny County. Many of these families do not fit stereotypes that are commonly attributed to the homeless population

12. Major Finding #1 • 44% of the homeless parents in our sample group attended and/or graduated from college • Suggests they are committed to helping their kids in school, value education, and have experience making it through the educational system

13. Major Finding #2 • Homeless students and parents experience widespread problems with school

14. Major issues centered around: • Student mobility • Student health and attendance • Student/parent harassment/stigmatization • Misdiagnosis of students • Student behavior • General school lack of care Major Finding #2

15. Quotes from Parents Regarding Stigmatization “ The schools, they know our situation. They know our kids. They know we’re here and they hold it against us. They hold it over our heads like, “We know your secret!” It’s like, “Oh, your child is slow because you were too busy doing drugs.” Well, actually, my daughter was getting straight ‘A’s before going to that school. So it’s not her—she’s very smart. It’s the school.”

16. Quotes from Parents Regarding Stigmatization • “ It’s none of their business… I’ve heard people say negative things to me about being at (a homeless agency). About being homeless and poor. About being this and that. But I’ve had to let them now, I’m there but I’m not poor. I’m there but I’m not crazy. I’m there but I’m not a drug addict or alcoholic. But I’m there. You can make your own assumptions…”

17. Regarding School Conflicts • Some parents accepted a degree of responsibility for their child’s school conflicts, others were more adamant that the school system itself was to blame • “ I’m responsible for their actions, but they need some help. I have children who need help.”

18. Major Finding #3 • Most parents want to be active advocates in their children’s educational pursuits, but many of them face significant barriers in their attempts to do so.

19. Major Finding #3 continued • 79% of parents indicated that they help their children with schoolwork at least a few times a week • 51% of parents indicated that they help their children with schoolwork everyday • 71% of parents indicated that they want more information about how they could assist their children with school work • 92% of parents claim they speak with homeless agency staff at least once a week about their children’s educational progress • 68% of homeless agency staff claimed that parents are either somewhat or very responsive to agency attempts to get parents more involved with their kids’ schooling

20. Quote regarding Educational Advocacy “ I’m not just one of those parents who sends their kids to school and lets them go. I want to know why the busses are late, why the grades are what they are… I want to know this, I want to know that…I’m very involved… I let them (school professionals) know that my childs coming from a situation that is difficult enough as it is and she doesn’t need to be pampered, but she better be treated with respect.”

21. Barriers to Educational Advocacy • Information shortages (mothers lack info on school subject matter*, school and community program information, and legal information) • Both parents and agencies are short on time and money • * 90% of homeless agency staff members claimed that better parent understanding of school subjects would help parents to be more effective educational advocates

22. Educational Advocacy continued • 64% of parents claimed that lack of knowledge about community programming was the biggest barrier to the fuller involvement of their children in local programming • 57% of staff said that lack of info was a barrier to families becoming more involved in community programming • At agencies where staff made deliberate efforts to provide community resource information to parents, the parents did not express this same sentiment about lack of awareness being a barrier

23. Parental Involvement • Over 75% of agency staff members said more support from school staff and more homeless agency staffing and/or resources are needed to get parents more actively engaged in the educational process

24. Awareness of Legal Rights • 20% of parents claimed they knew very much about their children’s educational rights • 50% said they knew not much or nothing about these rights • 38% of agency staff members strongly agreed that they knew about the McKinney Vento Homeless Assistance Act and its implications for students’ rights • Knowledge regarding McKinney Vento may not be shared across the spectrum of positions at the agencies

25. Summary of Major Finding #3 • Homeless parents need to learn how to access the education resources that they perceive to be unavailable

26. Major Finding #4 • Agency based after school learning centers appear to be highly effective at providing academic and social support for homeless students

27. R E S O U R C E L I B R A R Y

28. Agency-Based Learning Centers • 68% of parents stated they and/or their kids use the agency-based after school programming two or more times per week • 99% of parents indicated that these services were either somewhat or very helpful

29. Quotes from Parents • “The after-school program here is very, very helpful. It’s tremendous. Because they’re here. When we’re getting off work or coming back later from school, they’re here. It’s wonderful. I hope it never changes-even for families who come here years from now… They have a reading program that is special. My daughter kind of liked reading in school, but she loves reading here- and it brought here– and it brought her grades up in school. It’s great!”

30. Major Finding #5 • The nature and frequency of communication between schools, community programs, residential agency staffs, and parents is crucial

31. Parent -School Communication • Parents praised regular feedback from the school, both positive and negative • Expressed frustrations with seemingly uncooperative staff, unreturned phone calls • Mothers perceive schools to be less apt to respect and be responsive to them because they are homeless

32. Parent -School Communication • School personnel suggest that communication problems with homeless parents stem from their lack of understanding of how to navigate the school system: “A lot of the parents at the agency go straight to the top with any little issue that comes up. This creates a conflict when it’s really not necessary. If they would just go to the teacher or counselor first, we could resolve most of these things a lot more easily.”

33. Homeless Agency-School Communication • Only 12% of agency staff members indicated that they speak with school staff members very often • 44% do so “rarely or never”

34. Major Finding #6 • Relationships (and the lack thereof) play important roles in parents’ and children’s development

35. Relationships • Many families in homeless programs have history of highly destructive personal relationships • Many homeless shelters and schools have virtually no relationships at all • Yet, productive relationships exist between homeless agency staff and families, as well as among the families themselves

36. Parent-Agency Relationships • 87% of parents indicated that supportive relationships with agency staff members were helpful for their kids’ academic achievement

37. Relationships continued • Parents struggled to identify who were the key players in productive school based relationships • 20% indicated teachers were helpful during times of homelessness • 21% indicated school administrators… • 36% indicated school counselors… • Only 15% of homeless agency staff strongly claimed to have meaningful relationships with members of the local education community

38. Recommendations • Professional development for both shelter and school staff • Increased human and financial capital towards site-based educational programs • More specifically targeted programs depending on the length of stay of the agency • School based connections and programming, after school opportunities

39. Recommendations continued • Increased connections to community programming and systematic information dissemination at homeless agencies and schools • Research and evaluation of families experiences regarding education while experiencing homelessness • Further expansion of a network/collaboration of all institutions that support homeless children

40. Limitations of the Study • Focus was solely on sheltered homeless, and does not reflect the experiences of those who are not affiliated with a homeless housing agency • Agencies sampled primarily reflect an urban population • The focus on parents with school age kids limits the information about the educational experiences had by parents of pre-schoolers or young adults • Interview sample only includes a small number of school employees. More data would have strengthened the ability to cross-check statements made by parents

41. Questions and Answers? For more information on HCEF or to access a full copy of the report: www.homelessfund.org Carlin Christy: 412-562-0154 cchristy@homelessfund.org