With the recent drastic American economic downturn, more families are becoming homeless each day. The economic crisis has resulted in high poverty levels, unemployment, and hunger among the American population. the number of homeless citizens has increased in respect to the high standards of living and growing shortage of affordable housing and the poor citizen are unable to pay house rents, health care, provide food and educate their children. This has resulted in homeless students’ academic suffering as their academic performance is poor compared to their housed counterparts. The McKinney Vento Act defines homeless children and youth as “individuals without a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence” (DeVilbiss, 2014).
Housing problem or homelessness has dragged down students in enrolling, attendance, and their performance in school. Each homeless child or a student just as the housed counterparts is entitled to quality education as stipulated in the United Nations Bill of Human Rights. This has not been achieved due to the challenges highlighted above. Some of the regulations, laws, and practices that hinder the reach to education should be revised and new ones enforced for a promising future for the homeless students. Homelessness has resulted in students to often move from school to school and does not receive a consistent education which has significantly affected the students’ academic and social growth. These students take a long time to cope up academically and with the new environment. The distance they commute impacts on deteriorating test score and overall terminal performance (DeVilbiss, 2014).
Despite this, the United States glory in the provision of education cannot be thwarted. As a school psychologist and staff, dealing with homelessness among students is not a less task. It needs all aspects and efforts to be pulled together to counter its existence. Moreover, I will incorporate my effort with the States Educational Agencies and the District Local Education Agencies. Parents and the entire society are important tools in the identification of the homeless students. With them, we shall put in place the funding, methodology, finding, suggestions, implementation plan and follow up of other projects in every district. These factors will assist in identification of the students and the last important aspect of every project; to implement the whole process by ensuring that homeless student gets the required education needs. As a society and schools staff and a counselor I will work as the contact between the students and Local Education Agencies in delivering of reports and suggestions. Been an inclusive and inquisitive role, all the agents therein will have a great impact on the settlement of the homeless students and their fate of getting a quality education (United States Department of Education., 2004)
The success of every project is known after the plan has been implemented. The intervention plans by the district to know the improvement of the students will lie under various considerations and observations. The schools’ enrollment data. I shall be focused to know if the data which was recorded previously before the intervention plan was initiated records increased enrollment by the homeless students. Every school will produce its previous and current data. Arguably, the number of the students would have tremendously increased. In the same manner, I shall look at the rate of attendance as compared to when the intervention plan had not started. If there would be no changes then the plan will have some shortcoming. But, more importantly, is that the number of the student attendance will have recorded positive results.
The involvement of the parents in their children education is a progress measurement indicator. I shall look at the rate of parents’ involvement in the education of their children than when the project had not started. Importantly, one of the main indicators to show the progress in the improvement in the test scores academic performance. The district schools will project the results recorded at the event of admission of the student and the latest academic performance. The parents are provided with meaningful opportunities to participate in their children’s education via the Local Education Agencies. This will indicate the current progress of the homeless students.
The intervention plan to address the issue of student homelessness.
There is a need for a broader understanding of the homelessness and incorporate the homeless students in the nations’ education curriculum. The effective tool for addressing the problems faced by homeless students is implementing a needs assessment process that, in long run, can shape the development of an action plan. These intervention plans are as follows:
Establishment of local liaison for homeless. The local liaison serves as the immediate contact between the local homeless families and the school's staff members and psychologist. It ensured the identification of the available homeless students, actualized enrolment of the students via Local Education Agencies in place. The liaison ensured that the students received appropriate medical and other education related services. Meanwhile, they requested the parents of the transportation service by the schools for children to and from schools and informed them of other education opportunities available for their children. As a psychologist, I aliased with the Local Education Agencies and community to publicize that educational rights of homeless students are disseminated to locations where they receive services under the McKinney-Vento Act.
The placement determination. The process should be student centered. When the students have identified the process of their placement should be done with immediate effect. The consideration of their documents such as birth certificate, previous academic records, the parent’s residence proof records should not be given an upper hand rather if necessary alias with relevant authorities and schools if need be.
Furthermore, being the school psychologist, I must alias with the Local Education Agencies and have input on the policy making and revise some of the local policies and procedure and practices that could hinder or rise dispute in the enrollment and attendance of the students. This must be effective because of the possession of advance related skills and experience with community related psychotherapy and knowledge. Significantly, shall alias with the State and Local homeless education coordinators to do a very extensive awareness of the importance of education for the homeless students. As a school staff and the other involved staff from various district schools, we have the broader understanding of these student needs. Due to this fact, we shall be in the forefront to implement these policies and practices to ensure the education stakeholders support homeless student education (National Coalition for the Homeless, 2009.)
The transportation of homeless students to and from the school of origin shall be considered as an intervention measure. Likewise, shall express the prohibition of the racism, ethnic, discrimination, and segregation of the homeless students from the school program or allocation of different schools duped for the ‘homeless’ rather be incorporated in the curriculum of their housed counterparts. The State Education Agencies and the Local Education Agencies to adopt policies and practice that will protect the homeless students from any form of stigmatization and segregation.
The call for subgrants. The subgrants from the Local Education Agencies and the federal government may be used to support tutoring, purchase of instruction materials and other educational services to help these students reach the same challenging instruction classroom content as the other state housed students. Particularly, they may be used in mentorship programs, paying school fees for the children, training and educating the parents of their children rights.
References
DeVilbiss, M. (2014). Narative Case Studies Exploring Homelessness and Education. 1-222.
United States Department of Education. (2004). Education for Homeless Children and Young Program.
National Coalition for the Homeless. (2009). Why are people homeless? Retrieved from
http://www.nationalhomeless.org.factsheets/why.html
