Concentration of Homeless Students Across New York City Schools

• In Event: Segregation in New York City Schools and Ongoing Challenges to the American Schooling Dream

Abstract

In New York City, as in most urban cities across the United States, students are concentrated by race and income. Researchers have pointed out that this concentration (specifically African American and Hispanic low-income students attending schools predominately with their low-income peers) can be a predictor of persistent racial achievement gaps as well as detrimental to the overall educational process (Jenks & Phillips, 2008; Kuscera & Orfield, 2014). In this study, we examine an additional factor of segregation – the extent to which students are concentrated by their housing status (homeless shelters and public housing) (Miller, 2011; Schwartz et al., 2010). We contemplate underlying reasons for this segregation and consider the challenges facing a small group of schools serving high percentages of students with unstable housing.
This study makes use of detailed student and school level data obtained from the New York City Department of Education to determine the share of students in shelters and in public housing across NYC schools across all grade-levels. Schools were ranked in descending order by number of students in shelters plotted against the homeless student population citywide. This study also utilizes interview data with school staff across twelve schools serving high percentages of students in shelters. All interviews followed a semi-structured format, were transcribed and coded. The investigator relied on prolonged engagement, triangulation and member-checking to strengthen the credibility of the research (Lincoln & Guba, 1985).
In school year 2013-2014, we find that only 30% of K-12 schools served close to 70% of the citywide homeless student population. Close to 25% of schools overall served a population where at least 5 percent of students were identified as living in shelter. Another fifteen percent of schools served a population where 10 percent or more were living in shelter. The remaining majority (60%) of schools served a population where less than 1% of students were identified in shelter. Schools that served more than 10 percent of students in shelter held at this rate for the subsequent two years. Interview and focus group data point to some supporting reasons: the proximity of schools to shelters and the limits of transportation. Some data hinted at enrollment center staff guiding homeless parents to schools with existing homeless populations. Staff interviewed pointed to the difficulties serving a highly transient population more likely to both be absent from school and not as academically engaged when present.
A supplemental analysis of students in public housing similarly found that a few schools served a disproportionately large share of students. In nine percent of K-8 schools, between 36 and 87 percent of students lived in public housing.
When considering disadvantaged populations, researchers should consider the concentration of students based on their housing status in addition to their race and income status. Students living in homeless shelters and public housing were found to be clustered in a small number of schools across NYC. The concentration of educational need at these schools is often overlooked by policymakers and district administrators.

Author

• Liza Pappas, The New York City Independent Budget Office