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I Was a Homeless Student and School Helped Me Find My Way Home

July 10, 2018

I first experienced homelessness with my family, then on my own. I was born to a single mother and a father who was absent because of post-traumatic stress disorder he developed after the war. Throughout my childhood, my mother, two sisters and I moved from home to home, sometimes not having one at all.

Type: Opinion

TAG: Homeless Youth, Special Populations

promises: Effective Education, Safe Places, Opportunities to Help Others

campaigns & initiatives: GradNation Campaign, Youth Voice: Homelessness

American Dream at Risk? When the American Dream Turns Into American Need

February 06, 2017

If you work hard and remain focused, you can prosper. That was the dream with which I was raised, the American Dream. And in many ways, this dream mirrored my reality.

Type: Opinion

TAG: Homeless Youth

promises: Safe Places, Opportunities to Help Others

campaigns & initiatives: GradNation Campaign

The Skills That State Tests Don’t Measure

October 05, 2016

“Are you excited about starting school?  It is your senior year, after all,” I said in my best “Rah, Rah, let’s go team!” voice.  She shrugged, “Not really. I don’t like being the new girl. Kids don’t talk to you—but they talk about you.” She went to many schools before entering our doors.

Type: Opinion

TAG: Special Populations, Homeless Youth

promises: Caring Adults, Effective Education

campaigns & initiatives: GradNation Campaign, GradNation State Activation

Youth Voice: None of My Teachers Knew I was Homeless. They Should Have.

September 22, 2016

As a homeless student, icebreakers were always tough for me. If my classmates asked about my family or tried to organize sleepovers, I couldn’t tell them that me and my younger sister didn’t have a place to live. I was afraid that if they knew, they would take her away from me.

Type: Opinion

TAG: Grad Rate Data, Special Populations, Youth Voice, Homeless Youth

promises: Caring Adults, Effective Education, Safe Places

campaigns & initiatives: GradNation Campaign

Fourteen Too Many

June 16, 2016

It may be your daughter’s best friend. It may be the captain of the football team. It may be the new student who just transferred in. It may be the one who has lived in your neighborhood for as long as you can remember. What we know is that the vast majority of public schools serve at least one student experiencing homelessness. In fact, the average public school has 14 students facing this crisis.

Type: Opinion

TAG: Youth Involvement, Using Data, Homeless Youth

promises: Effective Education

campaigns & initiatives: GradNation Campaign