Politics & Government

In Case You Missed It: LWSD Copes With Financial and Social Toll of Homeless Students

Helping homeless students stay in their home schools has proven successful in keeping those children in school.

A team of InvestigateWest reporters and researchers collaborating with Patch local editors spent the last several months looking at how Washington is grappling with a growing population of homeless students -- even as budget cuts further slash their ability to meet their federal obligation to help those students.

Among the findings statewide and in Kirkland published last week: 

  • In the 2009-2010 school year, schools reported 21,826 homeless students statewide, up 30 percent from the 2006-07 school year.
  • Within school districts with the highest number of homeless students, districts saw increases in the number of students without regular homes ranging from 3 percent to 104 percent.
  • This school year, the Lake Washington district identified 177 students as homeless, up from 119 last school year and nearly four times the number counted in 2006-07. At Kirkland’s two traditional high schools, Juanita and Lake Washington, 55 students were considered homeless in a March count; the previous school year the number was 38. For the full story go here.
  • Under the federal McKinney-Vento Act, school districts are required to identify and report homeless students and to guarantee those students transportation so they can stay at their original schools even if they have been forced to find emergency shelter outside the district. The cost to the districts to meet this mandate is heavy.
  • A small 2006 pilot study by the Washington State Department of Transportation found that while homeless kids typically had lower grades and Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) scores than non-homeless students, the grades and scores were better among those homeless students who got to stay in their original schools.

 

Find out what's happening in Kirklandwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Related materials:

 

Find out what's happening in Kirklandwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

  • For more coverage on Patch sites look here:

Edmonds Patch:

          Day 1

Redmond Patch

 

Woodinville Patch:

 

Shoreline-Lake Forest Park Patch:

 

InvestigateWest, is an independent, non profit organization dedicated to the art and craft of investigative and narrative journalism.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Kirkland