County schools work to keep homeless kids in class

ARLINGTON — In Legion Park, 126 plywood gingerbread children are grouped together in a spot where anyone who makes a trip downtown can see them.

The cookie figures represent the number of homeless students who attended Arlington public schools last year. Many of these students bunked with friends or relatives, some stayed in motels or crowded emergency shelters and a few slept in vehicles or otherwise on the street.

The varied reasons for the high number of homeless students in Arlington — and all around Snohomish and Island counties — include lost jobs, foreclosures, costly illnesses, rising costs of living, declining funding of social services to prevent homelessness and teens separated from their families and living on their own.

According to numbers released this month by the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, there were 27,390 students in the state reported as homeless in the 2011-12 school year. The number is up more than 5 percent from 2010-11 and up more than 46 percent from 2007-08.

At Snohomish County school districts for the 2011-12 school year, there were more than 2,500 homeless students enrolled. Everett, with 18,633 enrolled students that year, had the highest number of homeless students with 824.

Though there were at one point 126 homeless students in Arlington last school year, the current trend is showing that fewer families are homeless as the economy begins to improve, said Arlington school spokeswoman Andrea Conley. So far this year, the district has about 99 students who are considered homeless.

The ages of these students vary from district to district. In Arlington, with a total enrollment of 5,402 for the 2011-12 school year, of the 126 homeless students, 54 were elementary age. As in all public school districts in the state, Arlington keeps track of each student who has no fixed or regular residence.

“We look at each case individually and offer services to help each family,” Conley said. “The goal is to keep the kids in school and keep that consistency in the lives of these students.”

The district’s homeless student liaison oversees services that include tutoring, early childhood education, school supplies, transportation to schools the students may have attended before they became homeless, free meals, waived sports team fees, and better access to health care, such as a dental checkup with the Smile Mobile, Conley said.

“It’s been a really tough time on our small community,” Conley said. “There is evidence of an upward swing now, so that is great.”

Arlington United Church, with help from the Kiwanis Club and Arlington Arts Council, put up the gingerbread figures in the park. Some of the figures include statements by students about what it’s like to be homeless, said church member Steve Edwards.

Arlington United is one of 14 congregations in the region that received a Faith and Family Homelessness grant from Seattle University and the Gates Foundation to educate people about the issues of family homelessness, Edwards said.

The grant money that Arlington United Church received also is to be used to “increase the number of voices demanding fair and equitable public policy at local, regional, state and national levels,” Edwards said.

What is needed are faith-based and secular partnerships that can bring about change, Edwards said. “Obviously those are laudable, but lofty goals.”

The lack of a stable home puts tremendous pressure on homeless students. Rates of moving place to place are higher than students in homes, absentee rates are higher, health problems are more prevalent and graduation rates are lower, Edwards said.

Collecting and reporting homeless numbers is a requirement of the federal McKinney-Vento Act, which ensures that homeless children and teens have access to public education. Better reporting has led to more awareness about homelessness, said Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction spokesman Nathan Olson.

McKinney-Vento defines a student as homeless if he or she lacks a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence. In practical terms, the student is classified as homeless if he or she lives in emergency or transitional shelters; motels, hotels, trailer parks or camping grounds; shared housing caused by a loss of of a place to live or economic hardship; hospitals where children have been abandoned or are awaiting foster care placement; cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing or other spots not ordinarily used as places for people to sleep.

Under McKinney-Vento, homeless students must be given the same access to education as other students. Where possible, the student can remain in the district he or she was in before becoming homeless and is provided transportation to and from school. Washington state receives about $950,000 a year from the federal government to help homeless students.

Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427; gfiege@heraldnet.com.

Learn more

A community forum about student homelessness in the Arlington area is set for 7 p.m. Feb. 26 at Arlington United Church, 338 N. MacLeod Ave. Members of the City Council, school board and community volunteers are expected to attend. The public is encouraged to attend the meeting as well. More info: 360-435-3259.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Trader Joe’s customers walk in and out of the store on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Trader Joe’s opens this week at Everett Mall

It’s a short move from a longtime location, essentially across the street, where parking was often an adventure.

Ian Bramel-Allen enters a guilty plea to second-degree murder during a plea and sentencing hearing on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Deep remorse’: Man gets 17 years for friend’s fatal stabbing in Edmonds

Ian Bramel-Allen, 44, pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder for killing Bret Northcutt last year at a WinCo.

Firefighters respond to a small RV and a motorhome fire on Tuesday afternoon in Marysville. (Provided by Snohomish County Fire Distrct 22)
1 injured after RV fire, explosion near Marysville

The cause of the fire in the 11600 block of 81st Avenue NE had not been determined, fire officials said.

Ashton Dedmon appears in court during his sentencing hearing on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett Navy sailor sentenced to 90 days for fatal hit and run

Ashton Dedmon crashed into Joshua Kollman and drove away. Dedmon, a petty officer on the USS Kidd, reported he had a panic attack.

A kindergarten student works on a computer at Emerson Elementary School on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘¡Una erupción!’: Dual language programs expanding to 10 local schools

A new bill aims to support 10 new programs each year statewide. In Snohomish County, most follow a 90-10 model of Spanish and English.

Logo for news use featuring the Tulalip Indian Reservation in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Woman drives off cliff, dies on Tulalip Reservation

The woman fell 70 to 80 feet after driving off Priest Point Drive NW on Sunday afternoon.

Everett
Boy, 4, survives fall from Everett fourth-story apartment window

The child was being treated at Seattle Children’s. The city has a limited supply of window stops for low-income residents.

People head out to the water at low tide during an unseasonably warm day on Saturday, March 16, 2024, at Lighthouse Park in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett shatters record high temperature by 11 degrees

On Saturday, it hit 73 degrees, breaking the previous record of 62 set in 2007.

Snohomish County Fire District #4 and Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue respond to a motor vehicle collision for a car and pole. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene, near Triangle Bait & Tackle in Snohomish. (Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office)
Police: Troopers tried to stop driver before deadly crash in Snohomish

The man, 31, was driving at “a high rate of speed” when he crashed into a traffic light pole and died, investigators said.

Alan Dean, who is accused of the 1993 strangulation murder of 15-year-old Bothell girl Melissa Lee, appears in court during opening statements of his trial on Monday, March 18, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
31 years later, trial opens in Bothell teen’s brutal killing

In April 1993, Melissa Lee’s body was found below Edgewater Creek Bridge. It would take 27 years to arrest Alan Dean in her death.

Logo for news use featuring the municipality of Snohomish in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Man dies after crashing into pole in Snohomish

Just before 1 a.m., the driver crashed into a traffic light pole at the intersection of 2nd Street and Maple Avenue.

Bodies of two men recovered after falling into Eagle Falls near Index

Two men fell into the falls and did not resurface Saturday, authorities said. After a recovery effort, two bodies were found.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.