By
E. Alana James, Ed.D.
The
Web-based Professional Development Project (WBPD) is sponsored
by NCSE. The goal of this national project is to improve
the educational practice in schools and communities for children
and youth who are experiencing homelessness and high levels of
student mobility. Both issues have been shown to increase
the chances of a young person dropping out of school before graduation
(Rumberger, 2003; Rumberger & Larson, 1998).
Project
Description
Three
person teams in 15 communities from four states (Arkansas, Colorado,
Texas and Virginia) will participate in the WBPD project which
started in August 2005. Each team will have, as a minimum,
a community member, a school administrator and a teacher, although
some teams have added extra roles. Each team will work together
in their communities and participate on-line through a Web-based
Community of Practice as they develop new educational practices,
and measure their effects on student level data. The web-based
course can be accessed through WBPD.
Guests to the site can login by using the username
"wbpd" and the password "guest".
Alana
James provided training to the WBPD teams in Texas.
Background
This
project catapults on a successful project sponsored in Colorado
by the Department of Education and the Office of Education of
Homeless Children and Youth. During the previous iteration,
17 educators from nine schools worked individually and in groups
studying the same issues. The resulting book can be downloaded
from crslic.org. Educators in both the new
and previous project center their work on three domains of educational
practice proven to both build on a school's existing systems,
and to build the type of welcoming and safe environment that supports
education for all students (James, 2005).
The
three domains: access to educational services, welcoming
school culture and flexible strategies (James, 2005) go hand in
hand with NCSE's three A's of school success which are:
attendance, attachment and achievement. Look for future
updates on the NCSE website as these 41 engaged community members
and educators work together to tackle the daunting problems that
travel with students who come and go from schools all over the
country.
Project
Goals
- Connect with educators, advocates, researchers
and service providers in their communities to ensure homeless
students receive equitable and excellent services through the
public schools.
- Disseminate their findings through the website
to reach a broad national audience interested in homeless education.
- Work to assure that homeless and highly mobile
students have the tools and resources they need to graduate
from high school and pursue higher education.
References
James, E.
A. (2005). The use of participatory action research
to create new educational practices for homeless and highly mobile
students. Unpublished Dissertation, Teachers College,
Columbia University, New York.
Rumberger,
R. W. (2003). The causes and consequences of student mobility.
The Journal of Negro Education, 72(1), 6-21.
Rumberger,
R. W., & Larson, K. A. (1998). Student mobility and
the increased risk of high school dropouts. American
Journal of Education, 107(1), 1-35.
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By
Jan Moore, Assistant Program Specialist
National
Center for
Homeless
Education at SERVE
Children
and youth experiencing homelessness encounter tremendous challenges
affecting their opportunities for educational success. Consider
these facts about homeless children:
- At least 20% do not attend school
- Within a year, 41% will attend two different
schools; 28% will attend
three or more
different schools
- With each school change, a student is set back
academically
an average of four to six months
- Maintaining friendships through repeated
moves is difficult, causes children to feel like
outsiders, and results in anxiety and
depression
- Many homeless children lack basic school supplies
and a suitable environment for
homework
- Unaccompanied youth experiencing
homelessness confront these and other challenges
without the support of a caring adult
Children
and youth should be assured of opportunities to enroll and succeed
in school, but homeless children and youth have traditionally
faced numerous barriers in obtaining an appropriate public education.
Therefore, the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, reauthorized
in 2001 as Title X, Part C, of the No Child Left Behind Act, guarantees
a homeless child or youth the right to:
- Immediate enrollment in school, even without
paperwork normally required for enrollment
- Attend school in his/her school of origin (if
this is requested by the parent and is feasible) or the school
in the attendance area where the child or youth currently resides.
- Receive transportation to the school of origin,
if requested by the parent
- Receive services comparable to those received
by housed schoolmates, including transportation and supplemental
educational services
- Attend school with children not experiencing
homelessness - segregation based on a student's status as homeless
is strictly prohibited
The law requires
each school district to appoint a homeless education liaison,
and each state has a coordinator for homeless education.
For contact information, for your state's coordinator for homeless
education or for additional information on homeless children and
youth and the McKinney-Vento Act, call the HelpLine at the National
Center for Homeless Education (NCHE) at 800-308-2145 or visit
the website at www.serve.org/nche.
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By
Jan Moore
High
mobility along with lack of transportation and other services
create barriers to homeless students' attendance and success in
school. To address homeless education issues, the National
Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY)
hosts an annual conference for homeless education advocates and
educators. The association also sponsors a scholarship for
homeless youth through the LeTendre Education Fund. During
the conference, youth recipients are honored and asked to share
their experiences with homelessness. The following excerpts
from their stories underscore their determination and perseverance.
Winners
almost universally say things like "I refuse to give up,
I know I can succeed" and "I want to make a difference".
One reflected: "The experience of homelessness...has
given me more drive to succeed...great determination to work hard
and build a better future for myself." Another said:
"Maybe I will be a teacher that helps kids like me, or a
family lawyer that helps kids who have terrible home lives.
I just really want a career that helps people and in which I will
make a difference."
Going
to college has been a long-awaited dream for many of these young
people. Often their goals are centered around giving back
to their communities, which is evidenced by their desire to pursue
degrees in areas such as medicine, social work, and education.
Previous scholarship recipients acknowledge the difficulty of
balancing work and school, etc., but they are all thankful for
those who provided educational assistance and the encouragement
to believe they could achieve their dreams.
These
sentiments inspire the work of the many advocates, educators,
and service providers who devote their time to helping homeless
children and youth. If you would like to see how several
national organizations work in partnership, visit the following
organizations' websites:
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|
The Center produces training and awareness materials and offers
workshops at national and state conferences. NCHE operates
a toll-free HelpLine (800-302-2145) where callers can get assistance
with specific questions and issues. The Center also hosts
a listserv to foster communication among educators, and service
providers for homeless children and youth. (To join the
listserv, e-mail bhartnes@serve.org).
