Week 8: What About The Kids?

I am so glad I got to work with my community site to help identify which of the kids (they provided services to) are in the chronic absenteeism data collected from the school district. In general, they have been trying to find ways they could help students that are experiencing homelessness stay in school and graduate. I am happy that they allowed me to collect data and think of reasons why they may not be attending many schools despite all the support services we provide, including transportation and school supplies. and clothes. I know these are not the essential things that homeless students need but they are vital to attending school. I would have loved it more if it was more collaborative research than independent work because I firmly believe that two minds are better than one. I also haven’t been working in this department for long to come up with ways to help if I don’t know why they are missing the number of school days. I have definitely learned a lot from this project like how the education system works and what they prioritize in students. I have learned that attendance at schools matters and they will do anything to keep good attendance even if it means dropping kids (out of their school) that are bringing down their attendance rating. My site has really shown me that they prioritize the needs of the children at all levels. I will definitely put to use the information I have learned when I’m working with children’s welfare in the future.