One foot is planted in the alien distraction of a homeless shelter, the other in a nearby school, which is most likely a bus ride away. How are homeless children meant to take advantage of a successful education in order to escape their current poverty-stricken circumstances?
It is reasonable to assume that any educational system is earnest in its desire to elevate a child beyond the curse of a lifelong poverty trap. But to do so requires unusual resources and fertile imagination.
In New York, some current effort is concentrated towards the shelter foot. In that city, shelters are so full of children that funding for shelter-attached teachers is being sought to help organize a homeless children’s preparation, travel, attendance and homework1.
In Buena Vista California by contrast, one striking and imaginative effort concentrates on the foot in the school. Rather than send educators to the shelters, an experiment began four years ago to provide a few shelter beds at Buena Vista Horace Mann School, placing it in the school gym. After a slow and criticized start, it has adjusted its catchment area to create what is being recognized across the continent as a resounding success.
How does this unusual arrangement shelter-in-a-school work? Read more/watch/listen at FOX8: School homeless shelter model gives families a safety net
