Building School Communities for Students Living in Deep Poverty: Strategies for Success

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

Every two minutes, a baby is born into deep poverty in the United States. Most schools struggle to meet the needs of students who grow up in homes and communities experiencing extreme material hardship; the objective of this symposium is to document strategies for how schools can meet the learning and social-emotional needs of America’s poorest students based on student, family and community assets. New policy-relevant research is detailed in each of the presentations covering such topics as community schools, poverty and deep poverty responsive schools, socially empowering curriculum and the economic and social benefits of educational equity for the whole society. These studies provide evidence for creating school communities where students living in deep poverty can thrive and succeed.

Sub Unit

• Division L - Educational Policies and Politics / Division L - Section 7: Social Context and Structural Inequalities

Chair

• Peter Willis Cookson, Learning Policy Institute

Papers

• How High-Poverty Schools Can Meet the Needs of Students Living in Deep Poverty - Jeannie Oakes, University of California - Los Angeles

• Studying Poverty Influences and Post-Pandemic Realities: How Do We Support Students and Families? - Heather B. Cunningham, Chatham University; Ira Murray; Rich Milner, Vanderbilt University; Adam J. Alvarez, Rowan University

• Transformative Civic Education for Students Living in Deep Poverty - James A. Banks, University of Washington

• The Long-Term Returns on Investing in Educational Equity - Henry M. Levin, Teachers College, Columbia University

Discussant

• Stephanie Levin, Learning Policy Institute