Not specifices

Discussion 2: Homelessness in Our Schools

Poverty and high mobility are not a good combination, making the educational outcomes for homeless students much worse than for mobile-only or poverty-only students. Also, the effects of trauma on learning are devastating. Homeless and foster care students experience trauma just in the act of losing their homes – often multiple times. These students often lose family, friends, and support systems that exacerbate the effects of trauma, not to mention possible experiences of life on the streets, in shelters, in strangers’ homes and at the hands of systems that view trauma-caused behavior as “bad” behavior that requires discipline measures rather than therapeutic interventions. Drawing from resources from the course and beyond, explain how these students can be supported in an effort to keep them on track in the K-12 school system? In addition, discuss and analyze ways the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act protects homeless youth.