The Homeless Children’s Education Fund is trying to fill in academic gaps through its tutoring programs in shelters and in after-school programs. “In general, with most of the students we are seeing, they have fallen behind in terms of all academics,” Nykwest said. Those issues meant it took longer for them to get back into school. And during the pandemic, local homeless students “spent more time without devices and experienced internet issues at a much higher rate” than their peers, said Kaitlyn Nykwest HCEF’s afterschool and enrichment director. And while this disruption continues, national and local analyses have shown that students fell behind in reading and math during the pandemic.Įven before the pandemic, homeless students typically scored lower than other vulnerable student groups, including those who are economically disadvantaged. Department of Education, it takes homeless students four to six months to recover academically after switching schools. The lack of transportation means a number of homeless students have been forced to switch enrollment to the school districts where their temporary housing is located, a move long known to be disruptive to their education. The moves often take children outside of their regular school districts. But the majority are housed in temporary settings doubled up with family or friends after losing their permanent residences. Some local homeless students are living in shelters or motels. Data for the 2020-2021 will be posted by the state Department of Education later this year. ![]() The most recent data available shows there were 3,212 homeless students in Allegheny County in the 2019-2020 school year. Students are considered homeless if they lack “a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence,” under the McKinney-Vento Act. The Allegheny County Emergency Rental Assistance Program is set to expire in May. This comes at a time when advocates say homelessness is on the rise because of pandemic hardships, including job and housing losses, and the numbers are predicted to go even higher given the termination of eviction moratoriums and rental assistance programs. It’s definitely a very concerning and increasing problem,” said Brian Knight, manager of community engagement at the Homeless Children’s Education Fund. Upper Darby Township is roughly seven miles west of downtown Philadelphia.“Over and over we are hearing that there are not drivers to do the work of taking students from where they are now living to their original school district. “We are cooperating with the local authorities in the investigation of this incident,” the spokesperson said. It’s unclear if the driver has been fired from the Upper Darby School District, but she “is no longer driving buses at this time,” a spokesperson for the district told McClatchy News in an email. In retrospect you can look at it and say, ‘Well, there may have been a better way to accomplish that,’ but that doesn’t mean her conduct was in any way criminal.” “Her intention was merely to protect the child and to protect other children from the child. “All of the crimes that she was charged with require specific criminal intent, and there’s no evidence that she had any criminal intent,” Donato told McClatchy News. The driver’s attorney, Art Donato, says his client was well-intentioned. There is simply no excuse for this conduct, which is why these charges have been filed.” “Had an accident occurred, this child would have been unable to free himself from the tape. “Using duct tape on a child who was already fully restrained in the vehicle’s harness was not only inexcusable, it was also dangerous,” Jack Stollsteimer, district attorney, said in the release. Investigators reviewed video captured by cameras on the bus, which showed the driver taping the boy’s ankles and chest, then cutting off the tape once they arrived at school, the release said, adding that the boy was never seen “trying to get out of his seat.” Officers with the Upper Darby Police Department began investigating the driver on March 8, after receiving a report that a student at Hillcrest Elementary School was “assaulted by a bus driver,” the release said. ![]() The driver is facing charges of unlawful restraint, false imprisonment, endangering the welfare of a child, and assault, according to a May 30 news release from the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office. A 54-year-old school bus driver is accused of duct-taping a 10-year-old boy to his seat to restrain him, Pennsylvania officials say.
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