Serving Students Who Are Homeless

“Students who are homeless want to be engaged in the educational system; however, the trauma their circumstances produce and the resulting shame limit their ability to do so. Often, they get labeled as disruptive or truant. Though their external behaviors may appear to justify such identifiers, digging a bit deeper into their lived experiences often highlights traumatic incidents that warrant consideration…Teachers, social workers, psychologists, counselors, office staff, homeless liaisons, educational advocates, community partners, and administrators at the site, district, and state levels all play critical roles in creating educational spaces that encourage success for these students.”

—Excerpt from the Introduction to Serving Students Who Are Homeless

Schools and districts are seeing unprecedented numbers of students and families living without residential stability. Although the McKinney-Vento Act has been around for over 2 decades, many district- and site-level practitioners have a difficult time interpreting and implementing the Act’s mandates within their local contexts.

This book provides much-needed guidance to help educator and support staff support students who are homeless and highly mobile students who face significant barriers related to access and academic success. The authors employ several different strategies to help translate complex state and federal policies into effective practices. They include policy analysis, examples of successful approaches, tools for training staff, youth experiences, and address the role school districts play in serving marginalized students.

Serving Students Who Are Homeless can be used as a professional development tool at the local and district level, and as a textbook in higher education settings that prepare entry-level and advanced-credential administrators, counselors, school psychologists, and curriculum leaders.

Book Features:

• Guidance for understanding and implementing the law and tools for training staff.
• Case studies that include the voices of students, families, and practitioners.
• Questions and activities to facilitate professional development discussions.

Ronald E. Hallett is an associate professor and former school teacher. Linda Skrla is professor and department chair of educational administration and leadership. Both are at the Benerd School of Education, University of the Pacific.

"Hallett and Skrla have provided a well-timed guide that districts and schools can use to begin meeting these much-needed expectations and improve outcomes for this often invisible population of students."

—Journal of Children and Poverty

" Serving Students Who Are Homeless provides an excellent overview of homelessness, the possible reasons that families may find themselves in this predicament, and the effect it may have on children and their academic success. This work is a unique look at homelessness and will enable readers to understand the issues at play; assist practitioners, advocates, and administrators to create or revise current policy and practice; and encourage the utilization of various strategies in order to support these students as they work to meet their full academic potential."

—SirReadaLot

"I have worked in this realm for more than a decade and, sadly, the number of homeless families and children continue to rise. The information and strategies identified within the pages of this book will prove to be an invaluable resource to the work of counselors, school personnel, teachers, administrators, and advocates for homeless students."
—From the Foreword by Melissa Schoonmaker, Los Angeles County Office of Education

“Homelessness brings an array of daunting challenges to students, families, and schools. As more and more communities are experiencing these challenges throughout the United States, Dr. Hallett and Dr. Skrla have skillfully developed a critical new resource that can help those most in need. I admire their work.”
—Peter Miller, University of Wisconsin–Madison

2017 Recommended Reading for District Leaders by District Administration Magazine