蜜桃影视

In just the past five months, the number of homeless students reported in the nation’s second-largest school district has climbed by more than a thousand.

L.A. Unified in Los Angeles identified 17,494 homeless students as of April 9 鈥斕齯p from about 16,200 students听听in November and听听reported one month ago, according to data provided by school board member Kelly Gonez. The term homeless includes those living in shelters, motels, or cars, those doubled up with other families and those who are unsheltered.

The hike in identifications is likely due to heightened community awareness about student homelessness, as well as L.A. Unified staff鈥檚 more 鈥渢houghtful鈥� approach to broaching the topic with families, said Gonez,听who represents the school board鈥檚 District 6 in the San Fernando Valley. There are about half a million district students in total. Awareness is growing statewide as well, with the number of K-12 homeless students in California 鈥斕齧ore than听 鈥� rising more than听听in the past four years.

Homeless students can often be overlooked because 鈥渢he focus has been on the visible homeless: the people you see in tents, on the sidewalk, on the freeway,鈥� said state Assemblywoman Luz Rivas, whose district includes the San Fernando Valley. 鈥淗omeless children and families are more of the 鈥榟idden homeless.鈥欌��

In response, an array of state and local initiatives have ramped up to provide support. The L.A. Unified school board last month unanimously backed two bills 鈥� introduced by Rivas in December and passing through state House committees now 鈥� that would add a state-level representative for homeless students and hire more homeless coordinators, who guide local districts on how to best serve children lacking permanent housing. Another bill to听procure听more state funding for these students is reportedly coming down the pike as well.

At the district level, the board is听听from Superintendent Austin Beutner in the coming weeks on whether it鈥檚 feasible to use L.A. Unified property, such as gymnasiums, to house homeless students and families 鈥斕齛 proposition that has drawn both support and criticism from the community. District officials are also continuing to听cultivate听city and county partnerships to find solutions that both prevent homelessness and expand available resources, Gonez said.

Gonez calls it 鈥渁 two-prong strategy.鈥�

鈥淸It鈥檚 thinking about]: How do we help schools 鈥� who need supports immediately, and then how do we simultaneously also work toward the longer-term solutions that will help support the broader 17,000 homeless kids?鈥�

What鈥檚 happening now

A four-part L.A. Times last fall underscored the urgency of addressing homelessness by spotlighting the plight of Telfair Elementary. The school, located in the northeast San Fernando Valley, reports one of the highest percentages of homeless students across L.A. Unified鈥檚 more than 1,000 schools.

Rivas, who introduced the two bills last December, has a soft spot for Telfair 鈥� she was a student there herself in the 1980s, living in a converted garage. She said she doesn鈥檛 recall student homelessness being as prevalent as it is now.

鈥淭here was better working-class manufacturing jobs; people were able to buy their home,鈥� she said. Telfair was nearby to booming businesses like General Motors. But 鈥渁ll of those companies left in the 鈥�90s. So I think it鈥檚 more of a struggle to be able to afford a home.鈥�

As of April 9, 20.6 percent of the elementary school鈥檚 652 students were identified as homeless, according to data provided by Megan VandenBos, Gonez鈥檚 chief of staff. It was 24 percent in the 2017-18 school year, but declining enrollment has played a role in the dip since then. The bulk of Telfair鈥檚 homeless live 鈥渄oubled up, tripled up, quadrupled up鈥� in homes, Principal Jos茅 Razo LA School Report last fall. Many live in garages, paying a median price of $1,500 a month 鈥� sometimes without bathrooms or running water. They regularly struggle with trauma, sleep deprivation and a stress-inducing lack of stability, Razo said.

Those burdens often hinder students鈥� academic performance, too, with that homeless students are twice as likely to score lower on standardized tests than their peers. Last year, the percentage of Telfair students meeting math standards was about half the district average: nearly , versus . The school also trailed in English language arts, with nearly 28 percent of students meeting standards, compared with 42 percent districtwide.

Rivas said the reality of homelessness at schools like Telfair deeply troubles her. 鈥淚 thought, 鈥楾hat鈥檚 unacceptable. How do we expect children to be ready for school if they don鈥檛 know where they鈥檙e going to sleep that night?鈥欌�� she said. 鈥淪o my team convened a roundtable discussion with state agencies and stakeholders to see how we could solve this problem.鈥�

Rivas鈥檚 two bills came out of those discussions:

鈼� : Would add someone from the California Department of Education to the state鈥檚 Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council. The council needs 鈥渁n [education] voice at the table when discussing youth homelessness, because most children are identified as homeless by schools,鈥� Rivas said.

鈼� : Would increase the number of state homeless coordinators and add assistance centers. The bill would add three state-level homeless coordinators to the two existing ones. Homeless coordinators 鈥渟upport school districts with resources and training to help them serve homeless children,鈥� Rivas said 鈥� an 鈥渋mpossible task鈥� currently in a state that has about 1,400 local education agencies. The bill would also allocate $500,000 to three county offices of education in different regions of the state to establish three technical assistance centers. These centers would 鈥渂ring the resources closer [to local districts] instead of it all being in Sacramento,鈥� Rivas said.

AB 58 is expected to pass听out of the state House to the state Senate by next Monday, Matthew Montgomery, Rivas鈥檚 chief of staff, wrote in an email Tuesday. AB 16 is moving a bit slower, and it is 鈥渟et for a hearing to discuss its fiscal costs in Appropriations [committee] in the next couple of weeks,鈥� he added.

While L.A. Unified already has a听, Rivas said the district could directly benefit if one of these technical assistance centers is built in L.A. County. L.A. Unified鈥檚 school board last month unanimously backed those bills in a resolution written by Gonez. District 4鈥檚 Nick Melvoin called them 鈥渘o-brainer changes that we鈥檙e asking the state to do.鈥�

At the local level, meanwhile, Gonez says the most immediate change since November has been the 鈥渙utpouring of support鈥� for schools like Telfair. 鈥淚 often hear from [community members] about how they can help Telfair,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o we鈥檙e constantly working with Principal Razo and his wonderful and dedicated team to figure out what are the best ways to support.鈥�

Los Angeles police officers in February fitted the youngsters with听. A bike shop in January听听20 colorful bikes. Local high schoolers 鈥斕齪osing as elves 鈥� surprised Telfair students with presents at Christmastime. One Instagram听听shows the kids eagerly ripping apart wrapping paper, squealing over their new board games, dolls, stickers and other toys.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BrGoeIWhlwA/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

Telfair and a few other schools also participated in a one-week camp over winter break, which focused on literacy and STEAM learning for those not yet proficient in English. Students听听about ancient Egypt and visited a King Tut exhibit at the California Science Center and performed mock excavations in a sandbox, among other activities.听鈥淣othing is planned鈥� at Telfair for spring break this week, however, a district spokeswoman wrote in an email.

To address homelessness on a broader scale, L.A. Unified officials are exploring new ways to partner with local governmental agencies and nonprofit organizations 鈥� the mayor鈥檚 office, city council offices, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, L.A. Family Housing and People Assisting the Homeless (PATH), to name a few 鈥斕齮o 鈥渄etermine what [homeless student] needs aren鈥檛 being met 鈥� and how L.A. Unified can fill those gaps,鈥� Gonez said. She, Razo and Beutner had听听to city and county officials in November asking for their help.

In just the past few months, the district has added a second homeless liaison to PATH鈥檚听, Elizabeth Heger, director of Family Services,听told LA School Report. When a homeless family comes in for an assessment and 鈥渉as any school-age children, whether or not they鈥檙e enrolled in school, we will automatically, literally, walk them into [the homeless liaisons鈥橾 office and introduce them,鈥� Heger said.

The two liaisons visit the center twice a week, she noted. There are听听other similar centers in L.A. County that also听partner with听one to two district homeless liaisons. Heger said PATH鈥檚 specific center serves about 900 kids 鈥斕�65 percent to 70 percent of whom are school-age children 鈥斕齩n a yearly basis.

The partnership 鈥渋s really great, because at the Family Solutions Center we鈥檙e able to provide [the children] with transportation cards or food cards, things of that nature. But then LAUSD, in partnership with us, will help us get those kids connected to any school services they might need,鈥� such as extra clothing, backpacks and schools supplies, Heger said.

Heger emphasized the importance of making families who are seeking support feel safe and unjudged. 鈥淵ou鈥檒l have a family that walks in and a kid that just looks up at you,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 always try to interact with them, whether it鈥檚 sitting down with them on the floor [or] reading a book with them.鈥�

Besides the resources the district currently offers homeless students, local officials are also considering installing a washer and dryer on every campus so students and their families can have clean clothes, Gonez said. Another ongoing discussion has been how to tackle rent increases and evictions for families who 鈥渁re living in unstable housing situations鈥� and are at risk of homelessness, she said. PATH is already working with听听to protect families from evictions, Heger said. And the mayor鈥檚 office for City Homelessness Initiatives is organizing assessment days and resource fairs to help connect families with long-term housing options, Andrea Garcia, a spokeswoman for Mayor Eric Garcetti, wrote in an email.

It鈥檚 all marked progress from last year, Gonez said. 鈥淲e as a system [before then] hadn鈥檛 really grappled with the fact that we do have such a large population of kids and families who are experiencing homelessness,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 definitely been a greater awareness.鈥�

This heightened awareness about homelessness,听as well as district staff鈥檚 more 鈥渢houghtful鈥� approach to broaching the topic with families, has likely spurred the recent spike in identifications districtwide since November, Gonez said.

Notably, 鈥渢here鈥檚 been a greater understanding of the fact that the Residency Questionnaire and the language that it uses 鈥� how that could be alarming to immigrant families,鈥� she said. Latino students make up more than 77 percent of district schools, according to

The听听is given to every family at the beginning of the school year and whenever new students enroll. It translates in Spanish to 鈥淐uestionario Sobre La Residencia Estudiantil,鈥� which some Spanish-speaking parents might misinterpret as an inquiry about their children鈥檚 and their own residency status. Parents are not required to fill out the form.

The听title of the questionnaire is the same as it was late last year, though the district told LA School Report in November it was looking into changing it.

What鈥檚 happening next

In mid-November, the school board听听4-1 with one abstention on a resolution that gave Superintendent Beutner 180 days to:

鈼徧齊esearch the 鈥渇easibility鈥� of using district sites to allow overnight parking for homeless students and families, provide overnight shelter and meals 鈥渁t minimum鈥� during winter and summer recesses, and build or convert buildings to create temporary or permanent housing.

鈼徧齊eview the 12-year-old听听and examine the possibility of adding more counselors. Gonez said in November there are fewer than 100 counselors in that program.

鈼徧齃ook into bolstering professional development opportunities for schools鈥� 鈥渉omeless liaisons.鈥� Homeless liaisons are often staff members such as teachers who volunteer to take on the added role.

If the 180-day deadline holds, Beutner will give a report to the board with his findings next month. The district declined to comment beforehand and wouldn鈥檛 confirm the timing.

While Gonez expects the report to touch on all of those points, she said she doubts 鈥渋t will be at the point yet where we would be identifying particular sites [for housing]. My understanding is that there are still quite a few hurdles to be worked out.鈥�

The district housing piece of the resolution has drawn both听听from the public. Some community members fear that having homeless people in their area could lower home values, ruin neighborhood aesthetics and raise crime rates. 鈥淲e might want to start with community conversations in those areas before we make that stuff public,鈥� Gonez said.

Another way to better serve homeless students, Gonez noted, is getting them more funding. While the Local Control Funding Formula 鈥斕鼵alifornia鈥檚听听鈥� already gives the district 20 percent more in per-pupil funding for each low-income, foster and English language learner student, it doesn鈥檛 grant more if a student falls under multiple categories.

For example, a district third-grader who is considered low-income will get $1,704 on top of $8,520 in base funding. But that funding level remains the same even if that student is also homeless.

That鈥檚 problematic when considering the barriers homeless students have to overcome to learn, Gonez said.

鈥淵ou鈥檙e getting the same amount of supplemental funds, even though we know that being homeless creates trauma and means far and above just being low-income,鈥� she said.

L.A. Unified鈥檚 Office of Government Relations has been working with Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo on a bill that 鈥渨ould both add homelessness as part of the LCFF supplemental grants and allow for a duplicated count for foster youth and homeless students,鈥� VandenBos, Gonez鈥檚 chief of staff, wrote in an email.

The bill鈥檚 language is still being developed, but it is expected to be introduced this legislative session, which runs through 2020, VandenBos wrote.

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