IDENTIFYING & WORKING WITH STUDENTS of POVERTY MEMCA CONFERENCE March 14, 2014

Funding for this project is generously provided by the Mott Foundation.

Collaborative Partners: GISD, MCC, MMC, MDE

46 Million Americans… 15% of the population live in poverty.

• 80% of America’s wealth is owned by 4% of the population.

• 40% of it is owned by 1% of the population.

QUESTIONS:

What do you believe causes poverty?

Where do your beliefs come from? • Were they passed down from your parents?• Did you learn them from your community?• Do you have your own experience with poverty?

How are your experiences and exposure to opportunities, while growing up, different than students and families you serve?

Are you armed with relevant facts about poverty?

Are you able to suspend judgment and understand people are making the best decisions possible from their perspective?

16 Million U.S. Children… 1 out of 5, live in families that struggle

to put food on the table.

• Nationally, the average welfare check for one parent and two children is $478 per month.

• Twenty years ago, it was $408. • The average disability check is $600. • Less than 2% of the federal budget is allocated

for welfare.

Nearly 1 in 3 Americans experienced a

stint of poverty between 2009 & 2011.

The suburban poverty rate in the U.S. in 2012 was 11.3%

Rural poverty has exceeded urban

poverty every year since the 60’s.

• 1 in 4 working households in America spend more than half of

their pre-tax income on housing.

• In 2012, the National Low Income Housing Coalition

conducted a study that examined the cost of housing across

the United States, and found that no city had rentals priced

low enough where a minimum wage earner could live

comfortably.

• Youth living in poverty are the least likely to become educated in our nation.

• People living in poverty often experience education as “stress” and see it as a place they do not belong.

A college education appears to be the only

possibility to help people break the walls of

poverty and escape its hardships; yet today, it

is less likely a person in poverty will attain a

college education than it was in the 1940’s.

GENERATIONAL POVERTY:

Two or more generations born into poverty

Family never owned land

Highly mobile

Evictions/Shut Offs

First to graduate from high school

Has never known anyone who benefited from education

High rate of family illiteracy

Has never been respected in a job

Lack of tools/skill set to move out of poverty

Emphasis on survival

Focus is on making it through the day

URBAN POVERTY:

Metropolitan areas of 50,000 or more

Complex aggregate of chronic and acute stressors

Overcrowding

Noise

Violence

Less green spaces

Low air and water quality

Many of the housing options are old and deteriorated; often not well kept

Inconsistent health care

Dependent on large city services which are often inadequate

RURAL POVERTY:

Rural poverty rate is higher than urban rate of poverty

Non metropolitan areas

Much longer distance to services and educational options/no public transit

Fewer job opportunities

More single guardian households

Less access to services, such as health care and disability services

Lack of cultural experiences such as museums and libraries

Fewer opportunities for quality education and post-secondary options

SITUATIONAL POVERTY:

Often caused by a sudden crisis or loss Environmental disasters Divorce Health issues Family death Job loss or economic slowdown

More likely to bounce back and finish education

Often temporary

Can lose health care options which can perpetuate health crises

Major income drop impacting lifestyle

Often surrounded by people who are educated or able to earn a living wage

Attendance is accepted norm

Have not internalized the poverty as a personal problem

Often does not realize the advantage of growing up middle class

RELATIVE POVERTY:Economic income of a family whose income is insufficient to meet its society’s average standard of living

Working, but rarely have money for extras

Live paycheck to paycheck

Often teased or harassed by more affluent students

Often lack financial means to participate in activities of classmatesOften reluctant to have friends over to see their home because it does not compare with most of the other students’ housing.Few have health care

Focus on making it two weeks or through the month

Poverty seen as personal deficiency

CULTURAL POVERTY:

Have little or no financial resources

Face language and cultural barriers

Often struggling to straddle two cultures

Lack understanding of norms of second culture

May slip through the cracks

Extended family may be in another country

Or, may be multiple family members and multi-generational family members in home

Often do better than those born into poverty in America

Poverty is viewed as a system problem

ATTRIBUTES OF STUDENTS IN POVERTY:Poverty can undermine the development of self and the capacity of self-determination and self-efficacy.Strained resources correlate directly with poor school attendance, lower grades and lower chances of attending college.More stressors in family means they receive less positive reinforcement. More stress riddled attachments with parents, teachers and adult caregivers.Often lack a caring, dependable adult. Strains in attachments and added stressors often lead to behavioral issues in school. Fewer books at home, more time watching TV or video games. Transportation issues.

So…. these students are facing: Social and emotional challenges, including depression Acute and chronic stressors Cognitive lags Health and safety issues More limited coping skills Poor, short-term memory

Differences in the Brain Function Between High and Low SES

Brain function was measured by means of an electroencephalograph (EEG) - basically, a cap fitted with electrodes to measure electrical activity in the brain – like that used to assess epilepsy, sleep disorders and brain tumors.

“Kids from lower socioeconomic levels show brain physiology patterns similar to someone who actually had damage in the frontal lobe as an adult,” said Robert Knight, director of the institute and a UC Berkeley professor of psychology. “We found that kids are more likely to have a low response if they have low socioeconomic status, though not everyone who is poor has low frontal lobe responses.”

http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2008/12/images/eeg-brain.gif

WHAT CAN WE DO?

The adjustments we make to support our students dealing with poverty help all our students.

OUR ATTITUDES:

Debunk myths

Know the culture of your community

Have high expectations for all students

Make decisions with your own children in mind

Believe in the student and their ability

OUR BEHAVIOR:

Role model appropriate behavior

Embody respect

Be inclusive

Focus on the gifts, not the deficits

Celebrate successes

Show empathy and cultural awareness

Connect students to mentors whenever possible

SCHOOL POLICY & CURRICULA:

Advisory groups

Embed social skills

Use differentiated instruction

Use all the senses and address all learning styles

Incorporate reading interventions

Utilize vocabulary in all disciplines

Mastery learning/nothing lower than a ‘C’

Be ready to change classroom practice

Address knowledge gaps

Panel:Dan Seder- principal/Bay Middle CollegeLisa Reaume- counselor/Monroe Co.Middle

CollegeKatherine Carr- teacher/Mott Middle College

Team Time:

The Great Inversion – “We’re in the midst of ‘the Great Inversion,’

writes Alan Ehrnhalt (2012) a journalist and analyst at the Pew Center

on the States. Put simply, in the United States, affluent people are

moving back to the cities as lower-income people move out to the

suburbs. The social ramifications of this flip-flop are far-reaching. One

positive outcome is the potential for greater school integration along

race and class lines as both cities and suburbs become more diverse.”

Ed Leadership/May 2013

Resources:2010 Census Bureau Report

Faces of Poverty. (2013). Education Leadership, www.ascd.org

LeBlanc-Esparza, R., & Roulston, W.(2012) Breaking the Poverty Barrier: Changing Student Lives with Passion, Perseverance, and Performance. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree

Tileston, D. & Darling, S. (2008) Why Culture Counts: Teaching Children of Poverty. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree

Payne, R.K. (2001) A Framework for Understanding Poverty. Highland, TX: Aha Press.

Beegle, D.(2007) See Poverty….Be the Difference. Portland, OR: Communication Across Barriers, inc.

Contact Information:

Kerry MooreMott Middle College

[email protected]