Student homelessness has become a pervasive issue that school districts nationwide must address. While the literature shows that student homelessness often correlates with poor academic performance, little research exists about how school employees help students who experience homelessness or high residential mobility connect with the educational resources they need. To address the literature gap, this study examined how school employees support resource access and mobilization for students who experience homelessness. This study served as a positional analysis of school employees' roles and also examined how they worked collectively. Social capital theory framed this study as the researcher collected and analyzed data to see how families access and mobilize--or get connected with and utilize--educational resources. Using a case study design, the researcher employed the qualitative data collection methods of interviewing and analyzing documents to gather data from school personnel who work in a metropolitan school district in the Midwest. This study found that school employees' roles in helping homeless students connect with resources were associated with the specific job positions they held within a school. Additionally, this study found that a school employee's awareness of a student's housing situation and of the resources available within the school district and community impacted their ability to help. Ultimately, the findings suggest that implementing formal communication and collaboration protocols, as well as providing targeted professional development, can help school personnel work together to increase the social capital of students and families who experience homelessness by helping them access and mobilize educational resources.

Schools and districts are seeing unprecedented numbers of students and families living without residential stability. Although the McKinney-Vento Act has been around for over two decades, many district- and site-level practitioners have a difficult time interpreting and implementing the Act’s mandates within their local contexts. This book provides much-needed guidance to help educational leaders support students who are homeless and highly mobile students who face significant barriers related to access and academic success. The authors employ several different strategies to help translate complex state and federal policies into effective practices. They include policy analysis, examples of successful approaches, tools for training staff, youth experiences, and address the role of school districts in serving marginalized students. Serving Students Who Are Homeless can be used as a professional development tool at the local and district level, and as a textbook in higher education settings that prepare entry-level and advanced-credential administrators, counselors, school psychologists, and curriculum leaders. Book Features: Guidance for understanding and implementing the law and tools for training staff. Case studies that include the voices of students, families, and practitioners. Questions and activities to facilitate professional development discussions. “I have worked in this realm for more than a decade and, sadly, the numbers of homeless families and children continue to rise. The information and strategies identified within the pages of this book will prove to be an invaluable resource to the work of counselors, school personnel, teachers, administrators, and advocates for homeless students.” —Melissa Schoonmaker, Los Angeles County Office of Education “Homelessness brings an array of daunting challenges to students, families, and schools. As more and more communities are experiencing these challenges throughout the US, Dr. Hallett and Dr. Skrla have skillfully developed a critical new resource that can help those in most need. I admire their work!” —Peter Miller, University of Wisconsin–Madison

"Students with disabilities experiencing homelessness are a growing and vulnerable population in the United States (Bassuk et al., 2014). They have a myriad of unique and complex needs, many of which teachers are ill prepared to meet. In this study, the researcher conducted a case study (Yin, 2014), set within the context of Ecological Systems Theory (EST; Bronfenbrenner, 1979), to investigate existing school and district level supports for teachers of students with disabilities experiencing homelessness, and teachers' and other school personnel's perceptions of those supports. The researcher interviewed six school and district level personnel, and analyzed several school and district level documents and web resources regarding homeless education to triangulate the data. Data were coded at three levels, the first two employing deductive logic and a priori codes based on the EST theoretical framework (Level I) and extant literature (Level II; Fereday & Muir-Cochrane, 2006). The third level of analysis was conducted using an inductive process, during which codes emerged from the data (Leech & Onwuegbuzie, 2007). Results from Level I coding indicated microsystem supports (to students and families) were provided most frequently, followed by exosystem supports (to teachers and other school professionals). Level II coding revealed teachers and other school professionals have drastically different perceptions of the absence or presence of teacher supports. Furthermore, the roles of teachers and other school professionals are concentrated on providing supports to students and families far more frequently than providing them to teachers. Level III analysis resulted in four overarching themes: homeless education norms, perceptions of the experience of homelessness, assumptions about teacher awareness and supports, and culture of support. While other school professionals often worked together formally and informally, they rarely involved teachers in their teams, but reported they provide adequate teacher support. The special educator's perceptions indicated a lack of knowledge and support as well as a desire to improve both. Although the majority of participants held a deficit perspective of students with and without disabilities experiencing homelessness, overall they conveyed the importance of establishing a culture of support for those students and their families. Implications for future research include an investigation of the descriptive (the way things are done) and injunctive (the way things ought to be done) norms (Cialdini et al., 1990) within schools and districts. Specifically, the siloed nature of homeless education appears to be an emerging descriptive norm, when existing research supports homeless education ought to be carried out in a coordinated, team-based manner (i.e., injunctive). Professionals from other systems must be included in future research, as the norms from various systems can result in further contradictions. Similarly, additional investigations of rural homeless education are warranted to further unveil norms that impact the education of rural students with disabilities experiencing homelessness. Finally, considerations for practice include overhauling professional development to include teacher leadership and coaching as valid and sustainable options for improving the supports for teachers of students with and without disabilities experiencing homelessness."--Abstract from author supplied metadata.

Schools are facing increasing numbers of homeless students and school social workers and other related professionals are often at the front line of addressing the negative impact homelessness brings to individual students and the school overall. School social workers and other school-based personnel must contend with a myriad of policies and other factors related to homelessness to help students obtain an education. School-based Practice with Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness is one of the first books to focus on this topic in the context of our social work practice. This book guides practitioners through the conceptualization of homelessness, how experiencing homelessness impacts the children we serve, the policies that govern us, and finally a practice perspective. Written with practitioners in mind, School-based Practice with Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness is loaded with case studies and practice examples and is an accessible handbook to addressing homelessness in our schools.

The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act was enacted in 1987 as the first federal legislation intended to comprehensively combat homelessness. Title VII-B of the Act created the Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program, which authorizes the appropriation of federal funds to ensure that children and youth experiencing homelessness receive a free, appropriate public education. This book focuses on (1) "Issues of Homelessness and Education: Causes, Consequences and Definitions"; (2) "State, Local and Federal Responsibilities Regarding Access to Education: Removing Barriers to Enrollment, Attendance and Success"; (3) "School Responsibilities and Implementation Strategies" (stability and school selection, discrimination and segregation, and identification of and outreach to families and youth experiencing homelessness); (4) "Supporting Academic Achievement: Title I, Part A Requirements"; and (5) "You Are Not Alone! Resources for Understanding and Implementing the McKinney-Vento Act." Two appendices contain a list of state coordinators for the education of homeless children and youth and statutory provisions defining the role of the U.S. Department of Education in the administration of the McKinney-Vento Act. (SM).

Both colleges and policymakers recognize the importance of supporting students experiencing homelessness in higher education. The challenges involve both addressing issues of college access as well as developing strategies to support retention and degree completion once enrolled. This volume explores how homelessness intersects most social issues that marginalize individuals and negatively influence postsecondary completion, including poverty, foster care, and LGBTQ+ discrimination. As becomes evident, students experiencing homelessness should be considered in conversations about equity and access. For these students, completing some form of degree or certification beyond high school is a vital step in achieving future stability. Topics covered include: how residential experiences influence educational engagement and retention an overview of research related to housing insecurity in higher education federal and state policies related to homelessness in higher education a trauma-informed care approach to this issue an approach to understanding and studying housing insecurity among students ideas that will be necessary for policy and program development.

This book is for educators who wish to serve students who temporarily share housing with other families, live in homeless shelters or motels, nd/or camp out in cars and other stopgap places.