As in any other playoff, candidate rhetoric let loose during the U.S. presidential race can be tough. We’ve held a front row seat to the 2012 showdown for over a year, with tensions still rising as the general election looms nearer. Some of the barbs launched along the campaign trail have been laughable: Newt Gingrich’s television ad incriminating Mitt Romney for his ability to speak French comes to mind. Others are not. The dialogue surrounding U.S. poverty and inequality, two issues that are hotter than ever during a deep recession that the nation has shown incapable of simply shaking off [...]
Homeless Students
Ranks of homeless students grow in California counties
The number of homeless students has doubled in just three years in some California counties. Most experts believe the leap in unemployment and poverty rates accounts for the increased number of homeless students; meanwhile, teachers and administrators struggle to determine how best to help them. Photo credit: Joel Rosenbaum »
Failed Adoptions Create More Homeless Youths
Lamar West has lost his parents twice during his life, first when he was 4, then again just before his 18th birthday. This article details the young man’s life and how the adoption system has left more teens homeless when adoptions “fail.” »
Portland partnership helps students from homelessness to graduation
A partnership between two social services that provide alternative school programs in Portland, Ore., empowered 50 homeless students to receive their GEDs recently at a commemoration ceremony. The entities also provide food, housing, medical care, and job training for young people, creating a safe environment and offering tools for success beyond secondary education. (Photo... »
Troubling numbers for Illinois students in poverty
Nearly half of Illinois’ 2.1 million public school children come from low-income families, and 45 percent qualify for discounted meals, the most in decades. Plus, the number of students enrolled is down. But one metric that pleases school officials is student mobility, a measure of how many times students change schools during the academic... »
North Idaho homeless students stuck among insufficient funding
Northern Idaho’s Coeur d’Alene school district reports its homeless student population has grown from the 248 counted last year. While the law guarantees educational rights and protections for homeless youth—which includes school transportation and a designated liaison—Idaho schools, which have already been hit hard by the economic downturn, are finding handling homeless students burdensome.... »