Author: tourist_yp6g7u

PHOENIX (AP) — By the time Aaliyah Ibarra started second grade, her family had moved five times in four years in search of stable housing. As she was about to start a new school, her mother, Bridget Ibarra, saw how much it was affecting her education.

At 8 years old, her daughter did not know the alphabet.

“She was in second grade and couldn’t tell me any of the letters. I would point them out and she didn’t know,” Bridget Ibarra said. “She would sing the song in order, but as soon as I mixed them up, she had no idea.”

“I just didn’t know what letters were which,” says Aaliyah, now 9. “I know them now.”

The family’s struggles coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic that forced Aaliyah to begin her school experience online. Unfamiliar with a computer, Aaliyah was regularly kicked out of the virtual classroom, her mother said. Teachers complained she was not looking at the screen and took too many breaks.

Zoom school was especially difficult for Aaliyah because she was homeless — and like thousands of students nationally, her school didn’t know.

Homeless students often fell through the cracks during the tumult of the pandemic, when many schools struggled to keep track of families with unstable housing. Not being identified as homeless meant students lost out on eligibility for crucial support such as transportation, free uniforms, laundry services and other help.

Years later, the effects have cascaded. As students nationwide have struggled to make up for missed learning, educators have lost critical time identifying who needs the most help. Schools are offering tutoring and counseling but now have limited time to spend federal pandemic relief money for homeless students, said Barbara Duffield, executive director of SchoolHouse Connection, a national homelessness organization.

“There is urgency because of the losses that have occurred over the pandemic — loss in learning, the gaps in attendance and the health crisis,” she said. Many education leaders, Duffield said, don’t even know about federal money earmarked for homeless students — and the programs expire next year.

The number of children identified as homeless by schools nationwide dropped by 21% from the 2018-2019 school year to the 2020-2021 school year, according to federal data. But the decrease, representing more than 288,000 students, likely includes many kids whose homelessness was unknown to schools. Federal counts of homeless people living on the street or in shelters also appeared to decrease in 2021 due to pandemic disruptions, but by 2022, those numbers shot up to the highest in a decade.

In Bridget Ibarra’s case, she chose not to tell the school her kids were homeless — and she says teachers, disconnected from students by a screen, never asked. She was worried if officials knew the family was staying in a shelter, and the school was obliged by law to provide transportation, the family would face pressure to enroll in a different school that was closer.

She knew how hard the disruptions were on her kids.

“I know they didn’t enjoy moving as often as we did. They would say things like, ‘We’re moving again? We just moved!’” Ibarra said.

“When I moved, I missed my friends and my teacher,” Aaliyah said.

The stigma and fear associated with homelessness also can lead families not to tell anyone they lack secure housing, Duffield said.

“If we don’t identify children proactively, we can’t ensure that they have everything they need to be successful in school and even go to school,” she said.

Before the pandemic, Ibarra and her two children moved in with her brother in Phoenix because she was having trouble making ends meet. Then her brother died unexpectedly. At the time, Ibarra was pregnant with her third child and couldn’t afford the rent with what she earned working at a fast-food restaurant.

The family spent the next six months at Maggie’s Place, a shelter in North Phoenix that caters to pregnant women. The four of them, including Aaliyah’s infant brother, moved next to Homeward Bound, an apartment-like shelter for families, where they were living when the pandemic hit a few months before Aaliyah started kindergarten.

Aaliyah’s school, David Crockett Elementary, stuck with online learning her entire kindergarten year. Aaliyah and her older brother, joined by several other children, spent most of their school days on computers in a mixed-grade makeshift classroom at the shelter.

“It was like she wasn’t even in school,” Ibarra said.

While the shelter helped the family meet their basic needs, Ibarra said she asked the school repeatedly for extra academic help for her daughter. She blamed the struggles partly on online learning, but she also felt the school was giving all their attention to Aaliyah’s older brother because he already was designated as a special education student with an individualized education program, or IEP.

The principal, Sean Hannafin, said school officials met frequently with the children’s mom. He said they offered the support they had available, but it was hard to determine online which students had needs that required intervention.

“The best thing we could do was take that data and flag them for when we returned in person, because you need a certain amount of time to observe a child in a classroom,” he said. “The online setting is not the place to observe.”

A federal law aimed at ensuring homeless students have equal access to education provides rights and services to children without a “fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence.”

Many students aren’t identified as homeless when their parents or guardians enroll them. At school, teachers, cafeteria staff, aides or bus drivers often notice other students whose well-being may need looking into. Students may have unwashed clothes, or many late arrivals or absences.

But with children learning online, teachers and staff often didn’t see those things.

Overall, the drop in the student homelessness count began before the pandemic, but it was much steeper in the first full school year after COVID-19 hit. The percentage of enrolled students identified as homeless in the U.S. dropped from 2.7% in 2018-2019 to 2.2% in 2020-2021.

Over that timeframe, Arizona had one of the biggest drops in the number of students identified as homeless, from about 21,000 to nearly 14,000. But there were signs many families were in distress. KateLynn Dean, who works at Homeward Bound, said the shelter saw huge numbers of families dealing with homelessness for the first time during the pandemic.

Eventually, Bridget Ibarra had to enroll Aaliyah in a different school.

After getting kicked out of low-income housing last year when their property owner sold the building, the family lived with Ibarra’s mother before finding another low-income unit in Chandler, more than 20 miles (32 kilometers) east of Phoenix.

Once the family moved, enrolling in school was far from easy. Aaliyah missed the first three weeks of the school year last fall because of delays obtaining transcripts, and Ibarra insisted she not start the year without a plan to address her delays in reading and writing. Aaliyah spent that time playing and sitting around the house.

“Honestly, Aaliyah said she didn’t care how long, because she didn’t want to go to that school anyway,” her mother said. She said Aaliyah missed her friends and was tired of moving.

At Aaliyah’s new school, Frye Elementary, Principal Alexis Cruz Freeman saw for herself how hard it was to keep in touch with families when children were not in classrooms. Several students disappeared altogether. But she said families have started re-engaging with school. The state of Arizona reported more than 22,000 students were identified as homeless in the last school year — twice as many as the year before.

Ibarra said she tried to shield as much discomfort about their living situation from her kids as possible. It worked. Aaliyah doesn’t remember much about the places they’ve stayed except the people that surrounded her family.

Aaliyah has gained ground academically at her new school, Cruz Freeman said. She still has trouble pronouncing and recognizing some words. But by the end of the school year, she was able to read a text and write four sentences based on its meaning. She is also performing at grade level in math.

The principal considers her a success story in part because of her mother’s support.

“She was an advocate for her children, which is all that we can ever ask for,” Cruz Freeman said.

___

Associated Press data journalist Sharon Lurye contributed to this report from New Orleans.

___

The Associated Press education team receives support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

The post Schools lost track of homeless kids during the pandemic. Many face a steep path to recovery appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.

* This article was originally published here

In a ceremony held at the Truman Library Institute, President Joe Biden paid tribute to a pivotal moment in American history—the 75th anniversary of the executive order signed by President Harry Truman that desegregated the U.S. Armed Forces.

The commemoration not only honored the courage and sacrifice of Black veterans but also highlighted the profound impact of diversity on the strength and capabilities of the military.

President Harry S. Truman’s landmark order, signed on July 26, 1948, declared that there should be “equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin,” Biden emphasized.

During the three-day symposium, Biden championed the significance of this decision, which paved the way for future civil rights laws and legal rulings and laid the foundation for a more inclusive and powerful military.

In his address, the President praised the contributions of service members of color, acknowledging their equal bravery and sacrifices.

He celebrated the increasing diversity within the U.S. military, noting that over 40 percent of the active-duty force comprises people of color, a significant increase from the mere 2 percent representation in 1948.

“As our military became more diverse, it became stronger, tougher, and more capable — proving our diversity is a strength, not a weakness — a necessary part of our warfighting and our deterrence and our successful military operations,” the President insisted.

“And our unity out of many, not division, ensures good order and discipline, unit cohesion, effectiveness, and military readiness. We’ve seen it with generations of patriots, regardless of who they are mentored and trained by. Fellow servicemen from every background, like my friend, the late Colin Powell.”

Biden also highlighted the progress made in promoting gender equality, with about 20 percent of the current active-duty force comprised of women.

“Our military became stronger, tougher, and more capable as it became more diverse,” Biden asserted.

He noted that diversity is not a weakness but a strength, vital to successful military operations, warfighting, and deterrence.
Unity, he said, is a critical factor in maintaining good order, discipline, and unit cohesion.

However, the President also used the occasion to address a pressing issue affecting the military—the political blockade on military appointments.

He pointed out that Republican senators, particularly Sen. Tommy Tuberville from Alabama, have been obstructing more than 300 military operations nominations for political reasons, causing significant harm to military readiness, security, leadership, and troop morale.

Among the pending appointments is General C.Q. Brown, an F-16 pilot and wing commander, who is poised to become the first African American to lead any Armed Services branch as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Additionally, Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the second woman in the Navy to achieve the rank of four-star admiral, is awaiting confirmation as the first female Chief of Naval Operations.

Biden voiced his concern that this partisan freeze on appointments is disrupting military families’ lives, freezing their pay, and impacting their ability to plan for the future.

He argued that it’s crucial to have these outstanding leaders confirmed to address national security challenges effectively and support military families in their critical career decisions.

The President also criticized the opposition to Pentagon policies that would grant servicemen and women and their family’s access to reproductive healthcare rights in states where such access is currently denied.

He condemned the GOP blockade, stressing that it was affecting the lives of military spouses and service members stationed in those states.

Biden urged an end to the political impasse, emphasizing the importance of putting the needs of the military first and prioritizing national security above partisan agendas.

“A growing cascade of damage and disruption, all because one senator from Alabama and 48 Republicans who refuse to stand up to him, to lift the blockade over the Pentagon policy offering servicemen and women, their families access to reproductive healthcare rights they deserve if they’re stationed in states that deny it,” Biden remarked.

“I think it’s outrageous. But don’t just take it from me. Hundreds of military spouses petitioned to end the extreme blockade. One spouse referencing the senator from Alabama said, quote, ‘This isn’t a football game. This nonsense must stop right now.’”

The post Biden commemorates 75th anniversary of desegregation order in U.S. armed forces and condemns political blockade on military appointments appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.

* This article was originally published here

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) firmly stated that Black Americans are being attacked in various ways nationwide, with Republicans leading these efforts.

“We refuse to be victims, and we will not be silenced,” declared CBC Chairman and Representative Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) during a State of Black America press event held at the Capitol.

“Our fundamental rights are under siege, and our history is being denied. But we will not passively witness these actions. Too many people count on us to fight for them.”
Recent events in several GOP-led state legislatures have intensified concerns within the CBC.

Despite a Supreme Court order, Alabama and Louisiana legislatures refused to create an additional district with a majority of Black residents.

The Florida State Board of Education has approved new education guidelines that downplay the harsh history of slavery.

Instead, they emphasize the perceived benefits gained from the skills of enslaved people.
Rep. Maxwell Frost from Florida, the youngest member of the House, expressed frustration with his state’s guidelines.

He said these guidelines aim to erase and indoctrinate this generation with white supremacy.

However, Frost warned that Florida officials should not underestimate Black America’s determination to organize and resist.

Members of the CBC said that statements made by their GOP counterparts at the Capitol have deeply disturbed them, adding to the mounting discontent. Rep. Eli Crane from Arizona made an offensive comment during a House floor debate by referring to Black people as “colored people.”

Meanwhile, Sen. Tommy Tuberville from Alabama defended a controversial statement by denying the racism of white nationalists.

Horsford acknowledged that expectations from Republican leaders are minimal at this point, but Representative Troy Carter (D-La.) demanded that the party’s leaders take a stand against such bigotry.

“The silence from Republicans and others in the face of such egregious statements is deafening,” Carter said. “We will not condone the erasing of history. We must stand together to put an end to this.”

The CBC has issued a list of demands, calling on the Department of Justice and the Department of Education to launch investigations into education policies.

The caucus recently met with Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to discuss policies about Black history.

They also sent formal letters to Cardona and Attorney General Merrick Garland, urging for a “strong legal strategy.”

“Black people did not benefit from slavery; we built this country,” emphasized Horsford. “Our toil, sweat, and tears went into constructing the very foundation of this nation. Elevating Black America is an elevation for all. We will not tolerate this assault on our rights.”

The post Congressional Black Caucus confronts ongoing assault on Black rights appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.

* This article was originally published here