Page 14 - Flathead Beacon // 2.3.16

NEWS
IN DEPTH
Homeless in High School
As more Montana districts report homeless student numbers, Browning schools continue to combat the problem through unique programs
BY MOLLY PRIDDY OF THE BEACON
ROWNING – It’s near the end of January, and the wind blew hard enough the day before that school o cials considered
canceling school. Had there been snow on the ground, the 75-mph gusts would have made it nearly impossible to see or get anywhere.
But the snow-heavy clouds were stuck on the Rocky Mountain Front, and this hardscrabble town on the Blackfeet Res- ervation shone bright in the deceptively cold winter sun.
All of this is to say, the weather here doesn’t make life much easier for 20-year-old William Righthand, who wore a tan polo shirt a couple sizes too big for him, a pair of jeans, and some sneak- ers to school last week.
He only walks about a block to get to the Project Choices alternative high school program, but his home at the Town Motel is fraught with inconsisten- cies and unknowns. The low-slung build- ing has more cardboard than glass in the windows and sits in a potholed parking lot behind a pizza place.
Righthand and his younger brother painted the pizza place for the landlord as a way to make some cash; his little brother lives with a cousin in a di erent part of town now, and William stays with his parents at the motel.
At least it’s closer than when they lived with an uncle a couple miles from the school. They’d have to walk in the blister- ing cold, when the temperatures hit nega- tive 10 degrees on their own, not account- ing for the ever-present wind.
Righthand is just one of many home- less students in the Browning school dis- trict, and struggling to survive has made earning his education tougher than it might be for those who don’t have to worry about shelter or where their next meal is coming from.
It’s a life that would bring most to their knees within a week, but he’s not giving up.
“I wanted to get my education and go to college,” Righthand said. “I want to be
a
the director of alternative education in the Browning school district, about 140 students are designated homeless.
Some of it is cultural, he said – the de - nition of homelessness now includes liv- ing doubled up with another family, or sharing housing due to nancial hard- ship. This is a common occurrence on the reservations. Homeless families can also be found living in hotels, motels, shelters,
Able to do it the proper way.”
signi cant number of Browning’s students lack consistent housing. According to Matthew Johnson,
camping out, or sleeping in cars.
“A lot of it is just profound lack of resources, and profound poverty in our
community,” Johnson said.
The state O ce of Public Instruction,
under the direction of State Superinten- dent Denise Juneau, recently released its gures on the homeless student popula- tion in the state. With better reporting from public schools, the total homeless student population in Montana increased from 1,487 students in 2010-2011 to 3,075 in the 2014-2015 school year.
In the 2010-2011 school year, there were only 40 public school districts iden- tifying homeless students and reporting that information to OPI. By the 2014- 2015 school year, there were 105 districts reporting.
It is critical to identify this popula- tion, Juneau said, because OPI can pro- vide funding through the Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program, under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. This program is designed to help all students have access to public education.
According to OPI, Browning is one of the only reservation school districts to receive McKinney-Vento grant funding to support the homeless population. The students at the two alternative schools – Project Choices and the sterner, more structured Blackfeet Academy – are able to attend due to nancing from the grant.
Johnson said alternative education is the only way some of his students will
come to school. At Project Choices, there are two sections of classes, a morning ses- sion and an afternoon session. In order to graduate, students must present a senior portfolio with a lled-out job application, college application, give a presentation, and more.
The school takes a non-punitive stance when it comes to luring kids back, John- son said. There are two school employees whose only job is to roam the reservation and search for students who aren’t in school, and convince them to come back.
“It’s always a better choice to come back to school,” Johnson said.
Juneau, who grew up in Browning and visited last week, said the homeless stu- dents are the most vulnerable, and the school is performing admirably with an entire program dedicated to the home- less population.
“There are a lot of families that are doubled up here,” Juneau said.
Browning High School Principal Shawn Clark said his Class A school has 550 students and 98 to 99 percent of them are American Indian. The nutrition pro- gram supports many of the kids all year, he said.
“If we were open 24 hours, we’d have kids here all the time,” Clark said.
Clark said the district has the sec- ond-largest busing system in the state, and it may also start a dinner program for its students, consisting of handing the students a premade dinner in a bag for the ride home or for when they get there.
The school is also starting its own food bank, Clark said.
In the Flathead, several programs have recently popped up to support the homeless student population. Nichole Heyer, the homeless education liaison for Kalispell and Evergreen schools, said her position was created about three years ago to support and connect with these kids.
There are 224 homeless students in Kalispell’s School District 5, she said, and 81 in Evergreen. The vast majority of these kids have a roof over their heads, Heyer said, but the situations are touch and go.
“The term ‘homeless children’ means they lack xed, regular and adequate housing,” Heyer said.
A severe lack of a ordable housing in the valley plays a huge role in the increas- ing numbers of homeless students, she said.
“This year’s trend is a lot of single moms who are working full time and doing the best they can, but rent just keeps increasing and there’s nowhere to rent,” Heyer said. “There’s an increase in the working poor who have nowhere to live.”
The Kalispell Heart Program devel- oped the Heart Locker and Heart Mar- kets, where residents can pass along kids clothing for kindergarteners up through high school students, as well as school supplies, snacks, grab-and-go food, gift cards to places students can get meals,
Dean Madplume researches outdoor survival skills in preparation for an upcoming ski trip with Project Choices, an alternative school in Browning. GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON
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FEBRUARY 3, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM