More than 100,000 New York City students were homeless last school year — the fourth straight year the number has topped that mark, new data shows.
Just over 114,000 students in city public and charter schools — one out of every ten — lived in a shelter or doubled up with friends or relatives during the 2018-2019 school year, according to the survey from the education nonprofit Advocates for Children.
The numbers continue a trend of sky-high homelessness rates among city students — though the number of homeless schoolkids dropped slightly from the previous year.
The number of homeless city school students has risen by more than 40,000 since the 2009-10 school year.
“This problem is immense,” said Kim Sweet, executive director of Advocates for Children. “The number of New York City students who experienced homelessness last year — 85% of whom are black or Hispanic — could fill the Barclays Center six times.”
Students without permanent homes fare worse on almost every academic metric. Only 57% graduate high school, compared to almost 80% of all city students. Students staying in city shelters have the lowest graduation rates, with less than half completing high school.
Education Department officials have taken steps to confront the crisis.
The city added more than 30 new social workers focused on homeless students this school year, bringing their total number to 100. Another 100 community coordinators work in schools with high counts of homeless students to arrange supports for kids without housing.
Advocates say the Education Department can do more. They point to high rates of absenteeism among homeless students, and note that nearly half of students in shelters sleep in a different borough than where they go to school.
Though students in shelters are guaranteed busing to school, advocates say the waiting period while busing is approved can lead to lengthy school absences.
“The city must begin turning around educational outcomes for students who are homeless, starting with making sure students get to school every day,” said Sweet.
The vast majority of the city’s homeless students last year – almost 74,000 – were staying doubled up with friends or relatives. About 34,000 lived in city shelters. The Bronx had the highest rate of homeless students, at 18%.
