Word: homelessness
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Since 1987, federal law has required districts to help homeless children stay enrolled at one school continuously, as any move could set these kids back several months academically. Under the law, a district must provide free transportation - whether by taxi, city bus or school bus - even if the child is staying in a shelter outside its boundaries. Every year, MPS spends more than $1.5 million transporting homeless students. On a recent morning, seven buses arrived at Ty'jhanae's shelter to deliver 21 kids to eight different schools...
...gives each homeless child a new backpack full of school supplies paid for by private donations and federal dollars. And these aren't cheapo knapsacks. "We don't want backpacks that look like they came from a shelter," says Elizabeth Hinz, district liaison for homeless and highly mobile students. In the winter, her staff members hand out coats, mittens and hats. Year-round, they find free medical clinics to treat earaches and provide dental services. School social workers take kids to get glasses and vaccinations. Many high schools offer laundry or shower facilities for teenagers - who are often left...
...district provides funding to make sure kids don't get left out of sports, field trips, school dances or special projects like the science fair. And when two homeless students at Cityview Performing Arts Magnet won a regional science fair, teacher Pamela Holland-Mills did their laundry so they would have clean clothes for the celebratory dinner...
Nationwide, the federal stimulus package allocated $70 million to help homeless students, more than doubling the $65 million slated for this year. But those dollars will be meted out across the country's 15,000 school districts. And as the recession wears on, shelters are getting maxed out: the one where Powe and her two kids are staying has room for 32 people but received 50 calls from people seeking shelter in October 2006, 100 in October 2007 and about 300 last October. School districts know they'll have to fight one another to get enough resources for their homeless...
Marie Bell, one of two social workers at Ty'jhanae's school, says music serves as a balance for homeless kids. "Students are more resilient if they are able to develop musical skills," she says. The school encourages students to write daily journal entries that can help officials identify children who are between homes. "There may be some homeless kids here we don't know about," Bell admits. "Just letting them unscrew their valve and let some steam out helps...