Posts Tagged by schools
Is Foreclosure Itself a Risk Factor for Youth?
| July 23, 2012 | Posted by M. P. under Children and Family, Education, Policy, Research, Youth Development |
A paper from First Focus and the Brookings Institution estimates that 2.3 million children homes have already fallen victim to the foreclosure of their family home with an additional 3.0 million children at risk of losing theirs in the future. These figures do not include the 3 million youth potentially at risk of eviction from rental properties if that property is foreclosed upon. All in all, approximately 8 million children and youth are, or have been, somehow impacted by the unprecendented amount of foreclosures that have occurred in the United States over the past half-decade. .
The Urban Institute released a report earlier this year that examined the impact of the foreclosure crisis on public school students in three east coast cities, Baltimore, New York, and Washington, D.C. The cross-site study, The Foreclosure Crisis and Children: A Three-City Study by Kathryn L. S. Pettit and Jennifer Comey, concluded that foreclosure is a risk factor for students as it disrupts education and social bonds and may increase reports of mental and physical health issues, risk for criminal victimization and the likelihood of attending a school lower-performing than from whence they came. Other conclusions include,
- Racial disparity was mixed across sites. While African-American students were disproportionately affected by home foreclosures in the New York City research site, data indicate that neither Washington DC or Baltimore experienced the same impact.
- In Washington, D.C., students were more likely to be living in less affluent neighborhoods and (in both Washington, D.C., and New York City) in poorer schools prior to foreclosure, compared to the Baltimore site where the foreclosed upon students originally lived in better neighborhoods and attended higher-achieving schools.
- At the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. sites, students impacted by foreclosure were more likely to move out of the school system via transfer to a private school, dropping out, or physically leaving the area than were their New York City peers.
With home foreclosure identified as a trigger for numerous risk factors to the health, safety and development of students, The Urban Institute report lists numerous policy recommendations for public schools, local government, housing officials and researchers to consider when exploring and/or addressing the short and long term impacts of this unprecedented wave of foreclosures.
According to the data from the Brookings paper mentioned above, The Ongoing Impact of Foreclosures on Children by Julia B. Isaacs, in February 2011, 118,000 or 4 percent of Pennsylvania children were already foreclosed upon or in the process of foreclosure on their family-owned home. Has your nonprofit witnessed the impact of home foreclosure on the kids you work with or on clients and their children? Do you consider home foreclosure a risk factor for youth or something different altogether?
Department of Education Reports Over One Million Students are Homeless
| July 7, 2012 | Posted by M. P. under Children and Family, Education, Federal Government |
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Data released by the U.S. Department of Education quantifies the extent of homelessness among American youth, as over one million homeless children are enrolled in preschool through the 12th grade in public schools across the country. The 2010-11 count (1,065,794) is up 13 percent from 2009. For the purposes of the research, youth are classified as “enrolled” if they attend class and participate in activities at a public school.
According to the report, Education for Homeless Children and Youths Program Data Collection Summary, a presentation of analyses from the school year 2010-11 (including comparisons to data from prior years) the number of homeless children enrolled in public schools increased 57 percent since the beginning of the recession (the 2006-2007 school year). States with the largest increases in the numbers of homeless students include Kentucky and Utah (47 percent), Michigan and West Virginia (38 percent), and Mississippi (35 percent).
A positive takeaway from the report is that the academic performance of homeless students in grades 3-12 appears to have improved somewhat. In 2008-09, 49 percent of these students met or exceeded standard state proficiency in reading and 48 percent in math; in 2009-10, 52 percent of grade homeless students in grades 3-12 met or exceeded standard state proficiency in reading, and 50 percent did the same in math.
The report is available for download at the National Center for Homeless Education.
Paper: Teens Who Fight Influenced by Parental Behaviors
| May 9, 2012 | Posted by M. P. under Behavorial Health, Children and Family |
A paper presented at the recent 2012 Pediatric Academic Societies Annual Meeting explored the link between the behavior of aggressive teenagers and that demonstrated by their parents. A series of focus groups with middle and high school students found that attitudes and behaviors of parents were highly influential in shaping the violent reaction to conflicts exhibited by their teenage children. Many of the youth involved in physical altercations (fighting) reported that family members had pro-fighting attitudes and (anecdotal) histories of altercations. Fighting teens tended to lack knowledge of, or positive perceptions for, alternative methods of conflict resolution.
This study offers up yet another piece of evidence for the use of family-centered, not merely youth-based, interventions to discuss strategies for coping with stress, addressing conflict, and non-aggressive ways to mediate issues both within the family and with external players.
You Really Can’t Stop the Beat – the Arts are Alive & Kicking in Public Schools (For Now)
| May 2, 2012 | Posted by M. P. under Budget, Education, Policy |
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In April, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced the release of findings from a Congressionally mandated study on arts education in elementary and secondary public schools, calling it “an important milestone in arts education in our nation,” as it is “the first survey in a decade that carefully documents the state of arts education in the United States.” The study, which included public school students from Kindergarten through 12th grade, looked at the degree to which students received education in arts (music, dance, drama and visual arts) and variables related to both the work/learning environment and the instructors. Findings include,
- In 2009-10, 94 percent of elementary schools offered music education and instruction, 83 percent offered instruction in visual arts, 4 percent offered drama/theater instruction, and 3 percent offered dance.
- During the 2008-09 school year, 91 percent if secondary schools offered music education and instruction, 89 percent offered visual arts, 45 percent drama, and 12 percent dance.
- 57 percent of secondary schools required completion of coursework in the arts as a condition of gradation during the 2009-10 school year.
The complete report, Arts Education in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools: 1999–2000 and 2009–10 is available for download at the National Center on Education Statistics website. For more information on how to advocate for arts education in Pennsylvania schools, check out the recent report from the Arts and Education Initiative (AEI) of the Harrisburg-based Education Policy and Leadership Center (EPLC).
Report citation: Parsad, B., and Spiegelman, M. (2012). Arts Education in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools: 1999–2000 and 2009–10 (NCES 2012–014). National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC.
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