Unique challenges facing some students in the Warren County R-III School District were highlighted during the May 13 meeting of the R-III school board. Homelessness, a barrier to learning that can easily be missed, has a very real presence in the county. 

Assistant Superintendent Dr. Aaron Jones reported that 174 students in the district were identified as homeless at some point throughout the 2020-21 school year. That is approximately 6 percent of the enrollment of 3,301 students. The number is down from 228 students in the previous academic year.

Jones said it can be difficult to identify students who are homeless, and oftentimes the families do not realize their living arrangement is deemed as such. The district attempts to gather that information at the beginning of school and throughout the year.

“It’s part of the enrollment packet that asks them if they’re homeless,” said Jones. “The term homeless tends to be stigmatized and has different interpretations.”

A family doesn’t have to be without shelter to be considered homeless, he explained. If a family has been displaced or is currently relying on living at someone else’s residence, they could fall within the district’s definition of homeless.

“When somebody moves in with somebody else for financial reasons, they don’t see themselves as homeless,” said Jones. “It may be that they lost their job, were evicted or had to move in with a family member or friend.”

The district includes such alternate living conditions as part of homelessness because those situations can have a definite impact on education. Students may be without adequate privacy and sleeping in conditions that don’t allow for the rest necessary to focus in the academic settings. There may also be increased stress from being in a confined space with many people and the added potential for conflict. 

“Family concerns that are outside their control are always going to have that impact on their education,” said Jones. “If they double up with somebody, having a place to study could be an issue. In overcrowded homes it makes it difficult for academics to take place, and a lot of time attendance becomes an issue.”

Jones said the need for assistance in the district is significant, given both the homeless population and R-III’s free-and-reduced price lunch rate of over 50 percent. While Jones said there are resources available, he asserts that more are needed to accommodate families.

“We run into situations at school where kids may be talking about something going on at home and a teacher overhears it, so we have the counselor work with them,” said Jones. “Our educational support counselors will step in, using our Care to Learn money. That’s why that program is so important, because we’re able to give financial services without having to jump through many hoops. We talk with the family and identify the need, and we’re able to help them with those needs.”

Care to Learn is a charitable program that raises funds to help with students’ health, hunger and hygiene needs. Assistance could range from housing resources, to food or electric bills. Community members are encouraged to help out in keeping Care to Learn funded and stocked.

Another service used by the district to support homeless students is the McKinney-Vento Act, which provides transportation for students who have been misplaced from their district or origin for housing purposes. 

“A student that is doubled up because they have lost their home in Warrenton, and they have family in Montgomery County and have to move in with them — under the law they have the right, if they’re truly homeless, to continue to attend Warren County R-III,” Jones said. “Part of the responsibility is we pay for the transportation if the family is unable to do that and we split that with the other school district.”

Jones said the district assesses for homeless students throughout the year, and if a family is deemed homeless at the beginning of the year, they will remain on the list. At the beginning of the next school year their situation will be reassessed and they could be removed from the list.