Schools and Child Poverty and Homelessness

Increasing poverty among students challenges educators, By Adam Wise, November 6, 2010, Wisconsin Rapids Tribune: “In the past 10 years, the poverty rate has nearly doubled in some local school districts. The financial struggles of thousands of families in Wood and Adams counties is increasing the stress on school officials, as they try to address achievement gaps between impoverished students and the general student population. Locally, district poverty levels — measured by the number of students receiving free or reduced-price lunches — increased in five local school districts, including a more than 80 percent increase in the Wisconsin Rapids and Nekoosa districts from the 2000-01 school year to 2009-10…”
As family homelessness rises in Washtenaw County, educational project works to help kids stay in school, By Kyle Feldscher, November 7, 2010, AnnArbor.com: “For two years, Amina Brewer did her best to act like every other student at Ann Arbor’s Pioneer High School. The energetic 17-year-old pulled strong grades, had plenty of friends and seemed as carefree as her classmates. But she was hiding a secret from her friends. When the bell rang at the end of the day, the reality of Amina’s life would snap into focus. Her family was homeless…”