Education researchers at SMU who have spent years studying student homelessness and want educators to read all about their findings. NBC 5’s Noelle Walker reports on their unique approach to presenting the research.
Research papers don't have a reputation for being 'page-turners.' That's why two researchers at SMU's Simmons School of Education & Human Development wrote 'Uprooted: Voices of Student Homelessness.' It's not a research paper. It's a comic book.
"We've tried to get that out that out through academic papers," SMU Associate Professor of Education Policy & Leadership Meredith Richards said. "But those just don't bring live what is really happening to these kids."
"First of all, kids experiencing homelessness tend to face higher rates of food insecurity," SMU Associate Professor of Education Policy & Leadership Alexandra Pavlakis said. "So they could be coming to school hungry. They also have harder time sleeping."
'Uprooted: Voices of Student Homelessness' interweaves composite stories about different homeless circumstances. The hope is that it will help educators identify students so they can help them.
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"About 20,000 kids in the DFW area do experience homelessness," Richards said. "On average, it's about 5% of kids. So one in every 20 kids in a school, one kid in every classroom, is gonna be experiencing homelessness."
Pavlakis and Richards said students who experience homelessness don't experience it in the same way. Some sleep in shelters or cars, but the majority stay with family or friends.
"So those types of students, oftentimes, fly under the radar because people don't realize that those kids are homeless," Richards said. "And that means the teacher might not know that," Pavlakis added. "That means that maybe no one in the school knows."
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Identifying students experiencing homelessness is crucial because they are entitled to federal benefits under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.
"If we can help just one more kid, one more family, one more school," Pavlakis said. "That's success to us."
'Uprooted: Voices of Student Homelessness' has been sent out to all 50 states. It is available to be downloaded for free here.
