Coming up with solutions to the transportation problems of homeless students would go a long way toward reducing chronic absenteeism, advocates say.
Credit: KATE SEQUEIRA/EDSOURCE
A quiet place to complete homework, free and stable transportation options, and not immediately being penalized for missed work are among the things that Te’yana Brown said could have helped her as she faced homelessness at different points between elementary and high school.
Instead, Brown spent most mornings trying to figure out how to get to her high school. Sometimes, a family member could drive her the 45 minutes to an hour to school, while on other days she took the bus. She missed so much school at one point that she was deemed chronically absent, meaning she’d missed at least 10% of the school year.
“I think they knew periodically because I would always have absences or I would always be tardy, but I don’t think they…
