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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The number of homeless children in Utah schools is on the rise and educators are worried that many of those students are being left behind academically.
Statewide, the number of homeless students rose from 7,882 in the 2003-2004 school year to 9,258 in 2004-2005.
By federal law, children are considered homeless when they lack a "fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence," live in a motel, car or shelter or have moved in with another family because of economic hardship, among other scenarios.
Utah's increasing number of homeless children mirrors a nationwide trend.
"We have lots more young families who are just in dire straits," said Shelley Reed, president of the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth.
Educators say that frequently changing schools, as homeless children often do, can leave students behind academically. They may be anxious, uncertain about what twist life may confront them with next. Making friends may seem pointless when they know they'll inevitably move on.
As the homeless liaison for the Jordan district, Connie Crosby visits shelters every day and hears the many reasons someone may have come seeking a bed. Lack of affordable housing and increases in utility costs are part of the recipe in recent months. An increase in domestic violence and drug use - both methamphetamine and prescription drugs - also plays a role.
Parents call her all day asking for help. It may be that a school told a parent to provide a birth certificate or proof of immunizations before it would enroll the child. Then it is up to Crosby to explain that the law gives the parent the right to enroll their child immediately even while those documents are being chased.
"If we can keep a child in one school for one academic year, that's success for that child," Crosby said.
Homeless children often experience a level of stress not typical to your average kid. They may wonder when or if they will see their parents again.
"You can't tell these kids it's an unrealistic fear, because it's not (unrealistic) that their parents may not be there when they get out of school," said Rob Jones, a Jordan School District psychologist at Oakdale Elementary in Sandy. "They may not be living in the same place at the end of the week. They may not have any food."
Even their speaking skills and their vocabulary could be behind their peers' because they have little access to books or their parents are too stressed to talk to their children at their level.
That makes school all the more difficult.
"You can't teach reading without a vocabulary base," Jones said.
Like other districts, Jordan offers a range of services for homeless students. Using federal dollars, the district pays for teachers to tutor at the shelters in an after-school program.
Sharon Aitken, a third-grade teacher at Midvale Elementary School, says her other students often have questions about the new little faces in the room and wonder what happens to them when they're gone.
"As a teacher I kind of wonder, too," she said. "Are they back in school getting that education?"
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
