Last year homelessness in the NY school system was on the rise, but at 19 schools slated for closure because of poor performance, rates were especially high. "Lots of students think of this school as a home, but for some, it's more of a first home than a second home," said English teacher Christine Rowland. With their schools poised for shutdown, will homeless kids be out on the street again?
At 19 out of the 20 schools on the Education Department's shutdown list, the number of homeless kids rose 100 percent last year. At Public School 332 Bushwick 95 homeless children were enrolled last year, that's a fifth of the student body. At the Paul Robeson High School in Crown Heights the number of homeless kids grew to 156 from 16 the previous year. And school administrators say it's not just academics that the kids will miss if their schools are closed: many institutions run after-school programs that provide dinner and tutoring. "[With homeless students] the school takes on even more of a family role for the child, encouraging them to keep going," student affairs coordinator Stefanie Siegel told the NY Daily News.
The Panel for Educational Policy has vowed not to leave the homeless children stranded, but hasn't explained what it plans to do. "The [Education Department] has taken aggressive action to help address the profound challenges faced by students in temporary housing," said department spokesman Danny Kanner. The vote on whether to close 20 schools deemed failing by the Education Department will take place on January 26.
