Inspiring Best Practices for Improving Attendance of Students Experiencing Homelessness

During a portion of my homelessness, I would take the public bus to school with my dad. Sometimes my dad would experience periods of depression I assume and he would lay in bed all day everyday for as long as a week straight. This made it difficult to get to school because he was the only one I had to help me safely arrive at school for a period of time. He wouldn’t take me to school and would get angry at me for expressing my desire to go to school. Another barrier I had when I was taking the school bus, my school bus driver put me in uncomfortable situations. When she would come to get me, she would park far down the road and would force me to walk to the bus even if it wasn’t at the correct location. It was especially hard because she would park next to an area where a bunch of men would sit and sometimes they wouldn’t be wearing clothes or would try talking to me. If I didn’t walk over there, she would just drive away. It just made me dread getting to school. When I would take the school bus home, I would have to ride the bus with the high schoolers, the middle schoolers, and the grade schoolers, and then I would finally be dropped off. This made me also not look forward to going to school.

It was hard to balance keeping up with grades, assignments and school because I had to work and make sure I was going to be able to have enough money to eat and honestly survive. I started to become more and more absent because work became a priority then getting to school on time.

The barriers that I faced were mainly due to the issue of not having any control over whether I could attend school or not. People had to drive me to school, due to me moving around constantly and not always being in district, though there were times where I was able to ride the bus. I was luckily able to attend most school days, only missing a few here and there, but it was definitely a stressful time in my life that I wouldn’t wish upon others.

I think the biggest barriers to attending school were always transportation, energy, and embarrassment. I lived around 45 minutes away from my school at the time and I would need to bike there: some days, I just could not get myself to do it. Both because of how physically nd mentally taxing homelessness is, but also because I would need to wake up at five am to get there. Also, by the time I was at school, I would usually be drenched in sweat. Once I got out of homelessness, the trauma got in the way–some days I would be too anxious/depressed to leave.

I am a person who grew up poor at all times. I have moved so many times and switched to over 10 different schools. There were tons of barriers I had to overcome, but the two that I am still dealing with to this day is making friends and finances. It took until high school until I was able to be at a school longer than a year or two. I have grown to become better at communication, but I cannot get the grasp on building a great connection with another even in college. I wish I had the time to build some sort of lasting relationships with the people I grew up with. As for finances, I am learning. Up until last year, I had no clue what I was doing. This was even worse the two times I was homeless, as I had no idea what support systems I could rely on.

In my younger years, I lived in a campground several miles out of town. I remember the only way to get to school was by biking since the school bus and city bus didn’t go out that far. When we first moved to the campground, it was still August, so it wasn’t a big deal taking 1-2 hours to get to school on my bike. But as winter came, especially a Montana winter, it progressively got more and more difficult to get to school while I was in that living situation. Sometimes, I wouldn’t be able to go to school because of the temperature or other biking issues.

Transportation was a huge issue—I didn’t always have a reliable way to get to school, and there were times when just getting there felt impossible. On top of that, not having stable housing meant struggling with basic things like clean clothes, school supplies, or even a quiet place to do homework. The emotional toll was also real—dealing with shame, stress, and feeling like I didn’t belong made it hard to stay motivated.

Transportation. Thankfully, I was older when I experienced homelessness, so I had a driver’s license, but ensuring I was able to keep my car was challenging due to limited finances. I was given a gas card where I was reimbursed for my travels to and from school since I was unable to use their buses. (I wanted to stay at my initial high school opposed to transferring and this allowed me to do so.)

One of the biggest challenges I faced was constantly moving between houses and not having a stable home. This made it difficult to get to school on time because I didn’t have access to a car. I had to rely on the city bus, biking, or walking most of the time. With all the effort it took just to get there, it sometimes felt easier to give up, especially when the journey itself became overwhelming.

Having clean clothes, getting enough sleep

For me personally during the roughest time periods of homelessness when me my sister and our parents where sleeping in a shared tent it was predominantly transportation. While the self esteem aspect of having dirty cloths and bug bites didn’t help it certainly impacted my sister more than myself. I was always asking how we were gonna get to school and there were days where my parents made no effort to get us there at all, thus whenever possible if i knew the area would take measures into my own hands. At one point for almost half a year lyfting to school and back home and to work for myself along with my sister.

Transportation to get from school to wherever I was staying and vice versa. Also attendance. Being punished at school due to forces outside of your control sucks.

I would say my three biggest barriers to consistently attending school while experiencing homelessness were transportation, priorities, and support. Without a car and constantly couch surfing, I couldn’t rely on a bus to pick me up and drop me off. When I learned that I could receive Marta cards, I still had to walk to and from where the busses would stop, and inclement weather almost always made it feel impossible to start the day on a positive note. In terms of priorities, I was always trying to balance work and school, but work was essential for my survival, while school felt less crucial. It would have been helpful if teachers had been more understanding of the challenges I was facing.

It would have been helpful if they took my complaint against my bus driver seriously. It also would have been nice if the school could have found a way for me to get dropped off without making me ride with the middle schoolers and grade schoolers. It made me miss a lot of time I could have spent studying.

I think just asking overall, like what they could do to best support me and maybe giving me a work study or resources.

My school understood my situation and tried their best to meet my needs. They offered clothing and other household supplies throughout my time in High School. They didnt realize that I was experiencing homelessness until I found a foothold, myself, though. I believe that all schools could benefit by preparing their teachers to help children that are in need, both mentally and emotionally. People don’t often know the signs someone is struggling until it’s too late, namely because teens who are don’t always show the struggle they are going through, so knowing that someone is homeless, or at risk of it, is important to forming a healthy educational environment.

I think if the McKinney-Vento liason had caught my homelessness sooner, I would have not had to bike because a UTA pass, which is our local transportation pass, could have been provided for me.

There were a few schools I attended that had some sort of programs with people who assist kids that had a family that struggled financially, but there was only so much they can do. There was a school in Colorado I attended that required uniforms that we could not afford, but the school could only offer us a few shirts. There have been times when we were living in a homeless shelter where we missed school because there wasn’t a bus near us that would pick us up. There have also been times where I had to skip on lunch because we had no money to pay, and they had no financial system to help with this issue.

I think if the school had been able to extend its boundaries to reach further outside of town, I would have been able to attend school regularly. It would have made a huge difference, especially during the bad Montana winters when biking was nearly impossible. Having reliable transportation would have helped make sure I didn’t miss out on important school days and not fall behind.

My school could have done more to provide support without making it feel like a burden to ask for help. Things like free transportation options, access to laundry facilities, or a designated staff member who actively checked in on students facing housing instability would have made a difference. Even small things—like understanding teachers who didn’t immediately penalize missed work—could have helped ease the stress of falling behind.

Connecting me with other resources, not just those for traditional school students, such as SNAP or Medicaid, would have greatly benefitted me. Also, a peer-mentor program or any 1:1 time with a professional would have been great, too. Most importantly, granting me McKinney-Vento status sooner, when my homelessness actually started, rather than 6 months before graduating, would have helped so much.

One thing the school or district could have done is to extend bus routes. I needed a bus, but because I wasn’t zoned to my school, transportation wasn’t available for me. Another issue was how lateness was handled. If I arrived late after a long journey, the office would sometimes send me back home. This was discouraging because I had already worked so hard to get there. Knowing I might be sent home just for being late made it harder to even try if I realized I was running behind.

Have washers and dryers or allowed me to sleep in the nurses room for an hour or two

There were some that made it a hassle to converse with my parents and would have me take what felt like senseless steps to acquire a bus pass although I can’t entirely recall the full process as I was young and definitely stressed out of my mind.

Provide transportation or bus passes and loosen punishments on those with extenuating circumstances. Be more open about. McKinney vento

They could have been more consistent in providing Marta cards, support, and financial assistance for things like school dues. Spending so much on transportation often prevented me from covering other necessities, and if schools had understood that, it would have made a big difference. My only advocate in school was my counselor; she always stepped in when teachers were giving me a hard time. It seemed like all of my teachers were aware of my situation, yet they still needed to be addressed instead of simply being understanding and accommodating.

A lot of my teachers treated me in a negative away because of how often I missed classes. They seemed to act like it was my fault. This made me feel anxious about facing my teachers in class. Schools could have stressed the importance of treating students fairly despite how many absences they had.

Like I said before, just asking the questions. Instead of assuming I was just not trying providing resources or having meetings about what the school could do to help.

While i did not lose as many learning opportunities as i could have, I believe that having teacher material online can help students learn if they are not able to attend. Recording lectures, powerpoints, and teacher notes could have improved my learning for the days that I missed, without taking from my learning entirely. This increased during covid but has fallen since. This could be a huge resource for those who need some control in their life, meaning they wouldn’t lose their education.

I think being absent is always going to me negative–however, in terms of mitigation, it would be useful for students to know exactly what they are missing that day. If high school had something more akin to syllabuses like colleges do, it would be easier for me to keep caught up.

I believe every school should have some sort of advisement for every student, regardless of what they know or not. The one person outside of those at School House Connection that helped my get through high school and even into college was my student advisor.

I think the school could have sent home materials. For example, if we knew it was going to be below zero and icy or there was a snowstorm, they could’ve sent that week’s work home with me. If I had my work at home, I could work through it on my own and at least not fall behind in classes. That way, I could stay on track even when the weather made it impossible to get to school.

Schools could have been more proactive in reaching out instead of just marking absences. Having recorded lessons, online options, or structured catch-up programs would have helped me stay on track. A designated support system—like a teacher or counselor checking in—would have also made it easier to re-engage after missing school without feeling lost or discouraged.

Offering remote learning for those not able to physically come in could be explored, especially if the child is at an age where they are able to do so. In my opinion, as long as the students are learning what they need to, why do they necessarily need to be expelled for not attending school face-to-face, especially if there are special circumstances making it harder for them to do so? This could be a last resort to salvage a student’s education, ensuring they still obtain their high school diploma despite their living situation. Bottom-line, the question should always be “How do we keep this student enrolled so that they can receive their education?

Attending school consistently was really difficult, and I understand that schools and districts rely on attendance for funding. However, one thing I’ve never liked is how schools penalize students by taking away credit if they have too many absences, even when those students are performing well academically. If a student is getting good grades and staying engaged in class, schools should focus on supporting them rather than punishing them for circumstances outside their control.

Been more understanding

Just really reach out more knowing my parents definitely dodged some calls if they informed close family or myself to a certain extent perhaps me and my sister would have been better supported.

Ease. On. Punishments for absences and tardies. Remove one size fits all punishments or treatment.

Instead of punishing or penalizing me for being absent, schools should focus on how they can support me while also holding me accountable. Personally, I didn’t like being treated differently from other students, but I had to remind myself that my circumstances were unique. Schools could provide a safe space for students to do their work. I also believe there should be exceptions to the rules about holding students back a grade for attendance. If I’m experiencing homelessness and doing my best to attend school and succeed, being held back would be discouraging and disheartening. While I’ve never been held back because I’ve been fortunate enough to excel academically, my heart truly goes out to those students who struggle and receive little to no support from the school.