Poverty puts schools to test

from The Patriot News


BY DIANA FISHLOCK / Of The Patriot-News,

It’s hard to concentrate when you’re hungry or worried where you’ll sleep.

Students living in poverty have a lot to overcome before they can concentrate on learning.

The percentage of students receiving free or reduced lunches has been creeping up in many midstate school districts, officials said. And those are just the families willing to ask for help.

Midstate districts are trying to help needy students - and sometimes their families, too - overcome barriers to learning.

Families that have been poor for generations don’t just lack the money to do things. They lack the emotional, mental, spiritual, physical, relationship and role-model resources, said Christine Lay, director of curriculum and instruction for Central Dauphin School District.

She taught a workshop this summer for teachers interested in helping students who live in poverty.

If they understand poverty better, teachers can help provide and teach about some of the resources besides money that will make a difference in the students lives, Lay said.

"Many of our students look toward the school to be a stable force for them. It’s a source of meeting those basic needs," said Sybil Knight, assistant superintendent for student, family and community support services in the Harrisburg School District.

"We have to make sure we understand that school for kids may be a safe haven, not just psychologically, but physically,’’ Knight said. "We have a high rate of homelessness and a lot of kids who live in very violent situations."

Harrisburg staffers run a clothing bank for needy students and their families, visit parents at home and try to connect them with social services, Knight said. The district partnered with a food bank to put together boxes of food that kids can take home for the weekend.

Last year, Harrisburg began a pilot intervention program at one school for students who had experienced trauma. One boy had witnessed a shooting years ago and had never spoken about it, Knight said.

"His family did not know the impact of it,’’ she said. "He had held all of this in. This group allowed him a way to talk about it and deal with it. He’s able to do this self-talk to help him de-stress so he can continue to learn."

This year, other parents are asking if their children can be in a similar group. The district hopes to expand the program to at least three schools.

Steelton-Highspire School District Superintendent Norma Mateer remembers a student who couldn’t stay awake during class.

"I was on him that he wasn’t going to bed early," Mateer remembered. As she learned more about his home life, Mateer found that the boy’s bed was the family couch. An uncle staying there watched television late into the night and the boy couldn’t sleep.

"We make assumptions based on how we grew up and what our childhood was like. And those assumptions can be way off base," Mateer said. "Part of what we as a school district must do is constantly remind ourselves of their reality."

Teachers must instruct needy children in the social rules that will help them get a job in the business world, Mateer said. So Steelton-Highspire is teaching students problem-solving and conflict-resolution skills to help them cope.

East Pennsboro Area School District has a student services specialist in each building who serves as a liaison between parents and social service agencies, said Kathy Kramer, director of pupil services.

"I do know we have kids who come to school with nothing to eat. We had a family living in a car,’’ Kramer said. "In the past two days, I provided transportation for three sets of homeless families."

Some students wear the same clothes all the time or don’t have a place to do homework, Kramer said.

"I’d like to look at how we can meet those needs better," she said.

DIANA FISHLOCK: 255-8251 or dfishlock@patriot-news.com.