Columnist Sandy Thompson: Group focuses on homeless kids’ education

Sandy Thompson

Friday, March 22, 2002 | 4:56 a.m.

A SMALL GROUP of youth advocates, educators and lawmakers wants to make life easier for homeless children.

More specifically, the group wants to ensure that an estimated 2,000 local school-age children who are homeless go to -- and stay in -- school. That's not a simple task for children who don't know where they'll be living the next day, week or month.

Several members of the group, led by Kathleen Boutin of the Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth, have visited Pappas Elementary in Phoenix, the largest of 30 schools for the homeless across the country. The 12-year-old school not only teaches the state-mandated curriculum but also provides hot breakfasts, clothing, shower facilities, dental care and a medical clinic. About 1,020 students attend kindergarten through 12th grade.

One of the unique services of the Pappas school is its transportation system -- buses pick up and drop off students wherever they are living and no matter how often they move. Of the school's $3.1 million operating budget, $1 million reportedly is spent on transportation.

Boutin's group recognizes there will be hurdles to establishing a similar program in Las Vegas. Is this a priority need in the community? Which model would work better here -- a dedicated school for homeless youth or smaller programs at sites located in targeted areas? In view of school budget cuts and pitiful per-pupil funding in the Clark County School District, how would such a program be funded? Should a non-profit organization be established to raise funds for such a school or program instead of using tax dollars?

At a recent meeting of Boutin's group, members who visited the Pappas school said students were comfortable there and "comfortable with their acceptance of life's circumstances." The advantage to students was that they didn't have to switch schools every time their families moved. Because homeless youth change schools frequently during the year, they fall behind in their classwork and lose credits. That's why many homeless teens drop out of school altogether. It's difficult for many homeless youths to transfer from school to school because they don't have their records or other required documentation.

Another advantage of the Pappas school is that students are not ridiculed by others because of their circumstances or disheveled looks. All the students are in the same boat.

Some critics say schools should only teach the three Rs and should not be feeding students or attending to their medical needs. But if community and government agencies don't fill these needs, schools are the logical choices since the overall goal is to educate children, and you can't educate children if they don't go to school. You can't educate children who are hungry or who didn't sleep the night before.

The plight of Las Vegas' homeless is receiving a great deal of media and political attention, but little focus has been placed on homeless children. Some move around with their parents; others are older and live on the streets by themselves.

The Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth, which provides a safe place for homeless teens through its drop-in center on East Tropicana, is taking its youth advocacy mission one step further by looking into education programs for these youths. The group hopes to make a proposal within the next few months. Among the options being considered is setting up a small pilot project near the area where most of the homeless congregate, which also would be near shelters such as Shade Tree.

If we as a community want to break the cycle of poverty and homelessness, removing obstacles for homeless youth to attend school and stay in school is a good place to start.