Saturday, February 03, 2007

Poverty rises in county

from The Bratleboro Reformer

Report shows increase in free school lunches
By HOWARD WEISS-TISMAN, Reformer Staff

BRATTLEBORO -- Poverty levels continue to rise in Windham County schools, with counts in some towns far exceeding state averages.

The Vermont Department of Education released the annual report Friday on students who are enrolled in the federal free and reduced price, school meals program.

The number of students receiving free or reduced meals is used to determine funding for a variety of programs and has long been used as an indicator of poverty in an area.

Statewide, the average stayed about level, and for the second consecutive year, about 29 percent of Vermont students were registered in the program.

But in Windham County, many of the schools saw an increase in the number of children who are enrolled and many schools saw averages much higher than statewide.

"We have seen other reports and there does seem to have been an uptick in the level of poverty in the district," said Paul Smith, curriculum coordinator of the Windham Southeast Supervisory Union. "For a lot of communities, poverty is going up. It is not a complete surprise."

Every year when the state looks at average test results, children in poverty score lower and a persistent achievement gap continues to challenge educators across the state.

"Kids in poverty come to school with needs that have to be addressed," Smith said. "We are trying to learn how to modify and differentiate instruction to meet kid's needs."

Children who live in poverty might not have access to the same resources as other students, Smith said, and teachers and administrators are trying to learn how to mold academic lessons to make the learning more accessible.

"We can't stereotype, but in general they don't have the background knowledge," he said.

The rate at Putney Central School rose from 40 percent to 47 percent, a more than 17 percent increase.

"The numbers are fluid, they change, but they are up," said Kathy Bartlett, school counselor at Putney Central. "Families seem to be qualifying. The eligibility is there."

As the school's counselor, Bartlett works with students, many of whom are coming from homes where parents are struggling to make ends meet.

"All families have some stress, but when you throw poverty in, everything hurts," she said. "Everything escalates."

Having more children using the federal meals program means more children are getting some of their nutritional needs met, said Joanne Heidkamp, program director of the Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger, a nutrition and anti-poverty advocacy group.

In the last census count, Vermont had the largest increase in childhood poverty in the nation, with the number rising from 11.7 percent in 2004 to 15.4 percent in 2005.

"The cost of housing is up. The cost of oil is up, and paychecks are not keeping up with the increases," said Heidkamp. "If more kids are getting some of their meals at school, it means one of the safety nets is catching people."

Vermont is also doing a good job of bringing local food into some cafeterias. Heidkamp said in some schools cafeteria food is improving in taste, variety and nutrition.

Students who qualify for free meals come from families whose income is at or below 130 percent of the federal poverty line, which is currently set at $20,650 for a family of four.

While the numbers across the state have remained fairly consistent over the past few years, Heidkamp said families who do not qualify for the free or reduced meals might be having a harder time.

"For those families who make just a little too much, it is still a struggle to put it all together," she said. "There has to be a cutoff point somewhere, and those kids have it tough."

The free and reduced meals rates are used to determine federal funding for reading programs, and summer lunch programs also use the annual reports to determine payments for the summer meals.

Jo Busha, director of the Vermont Department of Education's Child Nutrition Program, said the annual report gives the department a snapshot of how children in the state are doing.

"It shows us where Vermont stands," Busha said.

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