Mentor A Promise

As briefly sketched in our previous blog post, homeless New York City students face challenges all but unfamiliar to their peers living in stable housing. At the top of that list is a significantly greater likelihood of leaving school prematurely and without a diploma. This article will examine how and why homeless NYC students dropout of high school.  What Is The High School Dropout Rate Among Homeless NYC Students? Even though federal law requires school districts and charter schools to provide extra support to students without stable housing, data shows that homeless students continue to lag behind their stably housed peers in terms of high school graduation rates. According to data compiled by the National Center for Homeless Education (NCHE), only 64 percent of homeless students graduate from high school versus 78 percent of low-income students and 84 percent of all students. Students experiencing homelessness are 87 percent more likely to drop out of high school than their pe...

Every year for the past nine years, the number of New York City students without permanent housing has topped one hundred thousand. [ 1 ] The latest analysis from the New York State Education Department reports that 146,000 students - or one in eight - experienced homelessness or housing insecurity at some point during the 2023/2024 school year. Naturally, a lack of stability will negatively impact a child’s ability to learn. This article and its sequels will examine why and how homeless NYC students struggle in school.  Which Students Are Considered Homeless? Before we delve any further into this discussion, we must define what constitutes a “homeless student.” For the purposes of this article, we will apply the definition laid out in the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. This federal law defines “homeless children and youths…[as] individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.” Suffice it to say, that includes a disconcertingly large number of peopl...