Homeless Students Case Study

David is a ten year old boy who is homeless. He is afraid to make friends because he does not anticipate attending his current school for long. He is often cold and hungry and lacks a place to prepare food or even use the restroom after school hours. Teachers may not be aware they have David’s in their classroom’s every day. School leaders need to provide tools, training, and resources so homeless students are provided stability, security and the opportunity to grow.

David’s story is not unusual. During the 2013-2014 school year, 6415 students in Idaho were counted as homeless (Idaho Department of Education, 2015). These numbers include students who were lived in shelters, resided in hotels, lived in cars or on the street, or where multiple

These children do not have stability in their living arrangement. Many do not know what will await them when they leave school at the end of the day. They have spent the day anxious about their parents or younger siblings (Woods, 1997). A large number of homeless families are single mothers with young children and in many cases, the mother was abused. Homeless students do not have places to study, so homework is challenging for them to complete (Swick, 1996). Students may arrive tardy because of transportation issues and may lose items or not be able to provide required items for assignments. Homeless children may be embarrassed by hygiene issues, living situations, or academic abilities (Evers,

As with all student, homeless students should have their emotional and personal privacy maintained. The school should be flexible with its attendance policy and not penalize homeless students because they are relaying on various transportation just to get to school. However, if they are absent, the school should follow-up immediately. Additionally, if the student does transfer, schools should work together so the student does not need to wait an extended period for new services to begin. Homeless students should be made available every opportunity: special education, language services, field trips. Teachers need to think outside the box to make the system work for these children because they will often not willingly volunteer or ask to participate. School leaders and teachers need to reach out to parents and include them in the educational process (Mizerek & Hinz,