| The Research Alliance for New York City Schools |
| | New Report: Homelessness in NYC Elementary Schools: Student Experiences and Educator Perspectives |
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The large and growing number of New York City students who lack stable housing has recently received much attention from advocates, researchers, educators, and policymakers. Our new brief shows not only that the City’s rates of student homelessness have increased, but also that the problem is most prevalent during the elementary years—a time that is crucial for students’ long-term academic success.
The study focuses on students who began kindergarten in the fall of 2012 and follows them for a full five years, exploring the multiple ways in which young children experience homelessness over time, including differences in their type and duration of housing instability. It also draws on interviews with educators to document challenges that schools face in serving large numbers of homeless students, as well as practices that school staff say contribute to improving homeless students’ educational experiences. Among our key findings:
- Of the 81,669 students who began kindergarten in the fall of 2012, 10,312 students—over 12 percent of the cohort—experienced homelessness at some point before their 5th grade year.
- These students were not evenly distributed across NYC’s education system; for example, over 10 percent of students who ever experienced homelessness began kindergarten at schools in District 10 in the Bronx.
- Almost 70 percent of students who experienced homelessness did so for more than one year, and more than a quarter were homeless for all five years of the study.
- About 58 percent of students who experienced homelessness were doubled up, meaning they were living with extended family or friends due to economic hardship.
- Most of the other students spent time in shelters, and the study’s findings suggest these students are particularly vulnerable. Students in shelters were more likely than other students to change schools, had very high levels of chronic absenteeism, and had the lowest test scores.
The brief—the second in our Equity, Access, and Diversity series—raises a number of important questions for policymakers, researchers, and educators, including questions about the concentration of very poor students in specific neighborhoods and elementary schools; the potential to provide educators with better data about homeless students; and the level and type of staffing required to support these students effectively.
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| The Research Alliance for New York City Schools is a nonpartisan research center housed at the New York University Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. The Research Alliance conducts rigorous studies on topics that matter to the city’s public schools. The organization strives to advance equity and excellence in education by providing evidence about policies and practices that promote students' development and academic success.
Learn More at Our Website |
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