Serving Students Who Are Homeless: A Resource Guide for Schools, Districts, and Educational Leaders

by Ronald E Hallett, Linda Skrla, Melissa Schoonmaker (Foreword)

“Students who are homeless want to be engaged in the educational system; however, the trauma their circumstances produce and the resulting shame limit their ability to do so. Often, they get labeled as disruptive or truant. Though their external behaviors may appear to justify such identifiers, digging a bit deeper into their lived experiences often highlights traumatic incidents that warrant consideration…Teachers, social workers, psychologists, counselors, office staff, homeless liaisons, educational advocates, community partners, and administrators at the site, district, and state levels all play critical roles in creating educational spaces that encourage success for these students.” ― Excerpt from the Introduction to Serving Students Who Are Homeless Schools and districts are seeing unprecedented numbers of students and families living without residential stability. Although the McKinney-Vento Act has been around for over 2 decades, many district- and site-level practitioners have a difficult time interpreting and implementing the Act’s mandates within their local contexts. This book provides much-needed guidance to help educator and support staff support students who are homeless and highly mobile students who face significant barriers related to access and academic success. The authors employ several different strategies to help translate complex state and federal policies into effective practices. They include policy analysis, examples of successful approaches, tools for training staff, youth experiences, and address the role school districts play in serving marginalized students. Serving Students Who Are Homeless can be used as a professional development tool at the local and district level, and as a textbook in higher education settings that prepare entry-level and advanced-credential administrators, counselors, school psychologists, and curriculum leaders. Book

160 pages, Paperback

Published December 16, 2016

Reviews

[Richard Stange · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a current student-teacher at a Title I School, I can honestly say that this book changed me. It changed the way I think and the way I approach situations. It opened my eyes to a lot of things I never knew, if things that I never thought of or realized.

This is an eye opening book. It will not solve all of your challenges like magic, but it will open your perspective to the experiences of your students.

I learned that I must change the way that I plan units, making sure that my students who do not attend class every day because of circumstance have the same opportunity to education. It is not that they are responsible for what they missed. It is that “I” am responsible for making sure that they get access to both myself and the material when they are present or perhaps use digital means (if the student has access) to deliver them content.

We must develop units with ALL of our students in mind.

This was truly a life altering (or at least mind altering) read for me. It was enlightening, illuminating, and heartbreaking all at the same time.

I encourage all of my colleagues to read this.

[Dpalange44 · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are someone like me who is a total novice, this provides a ton of information. It can be overwhelming at times because this book is designed with not just teachers in mind.
I found this very inciteful and I can add this to my list of things that I didn’t know that I didn’t know.

[Cognatious Thunk · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book hoping to find easy answers, only to discover that there are none. Serving students who are homeless and highly mobile is a complicated, messy endeavor, that requires a whole community's efforts to function best.