Number of high poverty schools in US increases

A new study tells us that there has been an increase in the U.S. school districts that can be called "high-poverty" districts. The districts receive that determination based on the number of students who ask for free or reduced price school lunches. A school is called a "high-poverty" school if three quarters of it's students are enrolled in the reduced lunch program.

From the Boston Globe, writer Christine Armario gives us a breakdown of the numbers and what it could mean for those students.

The US Department of Education report released yesterday found that the percent of high poverty schools rose from 12 percent to 17 percent between the 1999-2000 and 2007-2008 school years, even before the current recession was fully felt.

By comparison, the overall poverty rate for children increased from 17 percent to 18 percent, leading researchers to believe that that a higher percentage of poor children were signing up for the meal program.

In all, there were 16,122 schools considered high-poverty.

Students at these schools face a number of disadvantages:

■ They are less likely to graduate from high school; on average, 68 percent of 12th-grade students in high poverty schools graduated with a diploma in 2007-2008, compared with 91 percent at low poverty schools.

■ After graduating from a high poverty school, 28 percent enrolled in a four-year institution, compared with 52 percent of graduates from low poverty schools.

31.2 million US children in reduced price lunch program

More children than ever before use the free or reduced price lunches available at US schools. The National School Lunch Program says that 31.2 million of the nation's school children cannot afford the average $2.95 a day for school lunches. School children whose parents cannot afford the money for school lunches can apply for reduced prices through the federal government.

From the Charlotte Observer, writer Barbara Barrett talks to nutrition experts about the staggering number of children enrolled in the program.

"It's almost inconceivable to think, when we're walking around with our $4 lattes, that there are families who can't afford $2 a day for a week," said Cathy Schuchart, vice president of child nutrition and policy with the School Nutrition Association, an advocacy group based in Washington.

A USDA study this year found wide disparities among states in signing up children who receive food stamps for the school lunch program. And although most families routinely receive applications before school starts, many don't know that they can sign up later if a parent loses a job or faces other hardships.

"I suspect there is more need than is indicated," said Maureen Furr, principal at Charlotte's South Mecklenburg High School, where one in three children receive a free or reduced-price lunch. "There's no question in my mind that people are in more difficult circumstances."

To qualify, a family of four must earn $28,665 or less for a free lunch; $40,793 or less to get lunch at a sharply reduced rate.

"Kids shouldn't have to worry about that part of their lives," said Kim Short, principal of Ballentine Elementary School in Fuquay-Varina, where one in three students are on the program. "It's certainly a school issue. But it's a community issue, too."

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools hit an all-time high for program enrollment this year, with nearly 52 percent of students impoverished enough to receive a free or reduced-price lunch.

"It has greater significance if you understand what it takes to qualify," Furr said. "I think there's the sense that poverty is more distant from us than it is."

Free school lunch enrollment increases in California

School districts across the states often use free or reduced cost school lunches to determine poverty in their districts. For the state of California, the students applying for free meals has increased at a dramatic rate, the largest increase in a decade.

From the Palo Alto Online, writer Chris Kenrick looks at a new report issued from the Lucile Packard Foundation.

Nearly 19,000 more California children enrolled in the federally subsidized meal program over the last school year, pushing the total enrollment to 53 percent of California public school students, according to the Palo Alto-based Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health.

Locally, 7.7 percent of Palo Alto school children qualified for the program this year, up from 6.6 percent in 2007.

In East Palo Alto and East Menlo Park, which is served by the Ravenswood City School District, 85.2 percent of children qualified for the program, up from 84.3 percent in 2007.

In Menlo Park and Los Altos, the number of children qualifying for the program was less than 5 percent.

Countywide, 37.7 percent of school children in Santa Clara County qualified for the program, as did 33.7 percent of school children in San Mateo County.

To qualify for the federal lunch subsidy program, a child's family income must fall below 185 percent of the federal poverty level, which is $40,793 for a family of four in 2009.

The numbers were made available through Kidsdata, a project of the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health that aims to provide reliable data on the health and well-being of children. Most of the data is from public sources, though some comes from the foundation's Bay Area Parent Poll.

4 in 10 Wisconsin students need school lunch assistance

A new report from a Wisconsin non-profit finds that 4 out of 10 Wisconsin students need help with affording school lunches. The Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism study says that the proportion of children needing free or reduced price lunches has been growing every year this decade.

Reporters Jacob Kushner and Kryssy Pease analyzed data from the Wisconsin public schools for their report. Our snippet of their story comes from the La Crosse Tribune.

The nonprofit center found the proportion of Wisconsin elementary students eligible for subsidized lunches hit 37.6 percent last year, up from 30.3 percent in 2000.

The proportion of low-income students grew at least two-fold in 47 of 411 public school districts during the period, reflecting the toll of the worsening economy and what some experts call a growing threat to education in Wisconsin.

This school year, a household of four earning $28,665 or less would qualify for free lunch. Families earning $40,793 or less qualify for reduced-price lunch.

More than 90 percent of the growth in the low-income elementary student population since 2000 occurred outside of Milwaukee, the center's analysis found.

Green Bay has the state's fifth-largest school district, but its low-income population grew by 2,398 elementary students, representing the largest increase of any school system. Districts in Madison and Kenosha also added more low-income elementary students in the past nine years than Milwaukee, Wisconsin's largest school district.

Since 2000, the La Crosse School District has seen participation in the subsidized lunch program rise from 35.5 percent to nearly 43 percent.

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.