What should teachers do if they suspect a student might be homeless? What about non-educators? Better yet, what can governors and legislators do to fight youth homelessness on a broad scale in their states and communities?
These are a few questions that a panel of experts tackled at SXSWEDU, where a group of nonprofits announced the Education Leads Home campaign, a first-of-its-kind national campaign that will focus exclusively on addressing the educational needs of the 1.3 million homeless students enrolled in America’s public schools.
“It's really important [for teachers] to ask students what they need,” said Barbara Duffield, executive director of SchoolHouse Connection, one of the nonprofits leading the campaign. “Ask what would help them and don’t make any assumptions based on what you might know.”
Teachers aren’t the only ones who can make a difference in a homeless student’s life. Warren said that non-educators have a critical role to play, explaining that the majority of help that schools in Shallowater receive for homeless students comes from the community.
“Homelessness is a mental health issue,” Duffield said. “It's a school safety issue. It's an early childhood issue.”
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