ICPH Atlas_LowRes_RGB

August 2016

OnThe Map The Atlas of Student Homelessness in New York City

iv Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness ICPHusa.orgInstitute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness ICPHusa.org The Atlas of Student Homelessness in New York City ICPHusa.org

Project Team

Ralph da Costa Nunez, PhD, President and CEOJennifer Erb-Downward, Principal Policy AnalystLiz Cohen, Editorial ConsultantAnna Shaw-Amoah, Senior Policy AnalystNavjot Kaur, Senior GIS AnalystJenna Davis, GIS AnalystKaitlin Greer, Policy AnalystRachel Barth, Policy AnalystKate Redsecker, InternOmar Smiley, Intern

A special thank you to the New York City Department of Education Students in Temporary Housing (STH) Unit.

Graphic Design by Michael Bierman Graphic Design

2016, The Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness

On The Map: The Atlas of Student Homelessness in New York City ICPHusa.org 1

Table of Contents

Table of Contents Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Users Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Overview: Homeless Students in New York City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Student Homelessness Remains Pervasive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Most Children Are Homeless for More Than One School Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Hispanics and Blacks Are Over-Represented . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Young Students Are Most at Risk for Homelessness . . . . 16Housing Instability Undermines School Stability . . . . . . . . . 17Empty Seats: Who Is Missing? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Aftershocks of Homelessness on Grade-Level Proficiency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Left Back: Who Is Retained? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Lasting Impact on Grade Retention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Unequal Discipline: Who Is Suspended? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Overlooked: Who Receives Late IEPs? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Early Intervention Matters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Defying the Odds in High School: Who Is Dropping Out and Who Is Graduating? . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

The Geography of Student Homelessness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Where Are Homeless Students? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Differences in Pre-K Enrollment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Where Sheltered and Doubled-up Students Go to School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32Patterns of School Transfers Among Homeless Students. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Late Enrollment Impacts Funding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Educational Achievement of Homeless Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39School Instability Across Districts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40Geographic Patterns of Absenteeism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42Identifying Students in Need of IEPs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44The Intersection of Homelessness and English Language Learners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46Academic Achievement in English . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48Academic Achievement in Math . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Aftershocks of Homelessness by District . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52Suspension of Homeless Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54Where Homeless Students Drop Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56Graduation Rates Differ by District . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Homeless Students by School District . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61Individual School District Profiles and Rankings . . . . . 62129

AppendixGlossary of Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131Community Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138Homeless Students by School District . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143Homeless Students by Community District . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144Homeless Students by City Council District . . . . . . . . . . . . 146Homeless Students by State Assembly District . . . . . . . . 148Homeless Students by State Senate District . . . . . . . . . . 150

2 Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness ICPHusa.orgInstitute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness ICPHusa.org


Executive Summ

ary

Executive Summary Children need stability to thrive. But across the United States, more and more children are facing the most extreme form of instability and povertyhomelessness. In no place is this more evident than in New York City, where one out of every eight children attending public school in SY 201415 had experienced homelessness within the past five school years.

Together, these over 127,000 children would form a school district larger than that of Boston and Seattle combined, and comparable in size to the Unified District of San Diego, CA, the 20th largest school district in the country.1 Given the scope and direction of homelessness among school-age students, it is imperative for policymakers and educators to know more about homeless students experiences in school.

The 2016 On The Map: Atlas of Student Homelessness

in New York City builds from where last years 2015 Atlas

of Student Homelessness left off. It provides a detailed

picture of homelessness within the Citys educational

system: where homeless students go to school, what kinds

of supports they may need, what their academic outcomes

look like, what differences exist by the type of homeless-

ness a student experiences, and what the lasting impacts

of homelessness are educationallyeven after a students

housing instability has ended. This picture dispels the

notions that homeless students are the same as other

poor students and that the experience of homelessness

is the same across all school districts.

Student homelessness affects the entire city, but the

dynamics of homelessness differ locally. Homelessness is

experienced one neighborhood, school, or shelter at a time,

and each child has a different story. While citywide findings

can illuminate the larger context of student homelessness

in New York City, they do not provide local texture or op-

portunity for comparisons between districts and schools.

To get closer to the lived experience of homeless school-

age children, the 2016 Atlas of Student Homelessness

profiles each of the Citys 32 geographic school districts

as well as its two citywide special districts.

1 National Center for Education Statistics, Table 215.30, Enrollment, poverty, and federal funds for the 120 largest school districts, by enrollment size in 2013: Selected years, 201213 through 2015, http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d15/tables/dt15_215.30.asp?cur-rent=yes (accessed June 29, 2016).

4 Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness ICPHusa.org

Key Citywide Findings

One out of every eight students in NYC public schools in SY 201415 experienced homelessness within the past five school years.

In one-quarter of New York City school districts, at least one out of every five students had experienced homelessness within the past five school years.

Over two-thirds of students who were homeless in SY 201415 had been homeless during a previous school year.

If all of the students who experienced homelessness in NYC had their own school district, it would be comparable in size to the Unified District of San Diego, California, the 20th largest school district in the country.

Homeless elementary students living in shelter had the highest rates of mid-year transfers and chronic absenteeism. Forty percent transferred during the school year and over half missed 20 or more days of school.

Housing instability can leave lasting scars on a childs

development. Psychologically, chronic stress can trau-

matize children, overloading the stress response center

in their brains and weakening executive function skills,

limiting their ability to effectively plan, juggle multiple tasks

and remember instructions.2 Without needed supports,

this can have long-term social consequences, making the

normal challenges of navigating daily life even more difficult

and carrying over into friendships and school. Children who

experience housing instability struggle more academically,

not because they have less potential than other children,

but because they must constantly deal with the stress of

uncertaintywill they have food, clean clothes, a safe place

to sleep? Education is key to breaking the cycle of poverty

and ensuring homeless children have access to a better

future. With more and more children experiencing home-

lessness, it is vitally important to understand the unique

challenges that homeless students face and the interven-

tions and opportunities available to meet their needs.

2 Robert F. Anda et al, The enduring effects of abuse and related adverse experiences in childhood: A convergence of evidence from neurobiology and epidemiology, European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience, 256, 3, (2006): 174-86.


Executive Summ

ary

District 10, including the Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx, had the largest number of home-less students with more than 8,500 students enrolled in SY 201415.

The top five school districts for the number of homeless students transferring mid-year were all in the Bronx.

One out of every three students who transferred into District 9 (Highbridge) mid-year was homeless.

District 9 (Highbridge) was home to 48 shelters with capacity for over 1,700 families with chil-dren. This was more than two times the family shelter capacity of the next-highest school dis-trict (District 19 serving East New York), which had 730 units located in 9 different shelters.

In eight out of NYCs 32 school districts, homeless students were suspended at rates that were below the citywide average of 2.8%.

In seven school districts more than 62% of students who experienced homelessness during high school graduated. In the year prior, only three school districts had graduation rates for homeless students that were above 60%.

Homelessness has a lasting impact on grade-level proficiency and retention rates. Students who were housed but had experienced homelessness had lower rates of grade-level proficiency and higher rates of grade retention than their low-income peers who had never experienced homelessness.

Only one-third of homeless students with special education needs received their IEP by the end of Kindergarten, a much lower rate than that of their housed peers.

While overall, homeless students dropped out at twice the citywide average, homeless students living in shelter during all four years of high school dropped out at rates that were statisti-cally no different than their housed peers.

Key District-Level Findings

Almost 20% of homeless students, or over 15,000 children, attended just two school districts in the Bronx (Districts 9 and 10). These two districts serve the Highbridge and Fordham areas of the Bronx.

The Highbridge neighborhood of the Bronx (District 9) had the highest proportion of students who were homeless in SY 201415.

Users G

uide


Users Guide The Atlas of Student Homelessness is divided into four sections. Section One provides an overview of homelessness among students in New York City. It focuses on overarching characteristics and citywide trends important to framing policies and programs for students experiencing housing instability. Section Two explores the geographic distribution of homeless students across the city, providing context for conversations concerning resources and allocation of additional supports. Section Three examines how homeless student characteristics and educational outcomes vary by school district, and Section Four provides an in-depth look at student homelessness in each school districtinformation critical to local program planning and priority setting. Definitions of all terms, as well as a resource list and additional tables by Community, City Council, State Assembly, and State Senate Districts, are included in the Appendix.

The data for the 2016 Atlas of Student Homelessness

were provided primarily by the New York City Department

of Education. Federal law entitles homeless children to

certain educational rights and supports including immedi-

ate enrollment in school without the usual required doc-

uments and records, which may not be readily available.

Based on their needs and district resources, homeless

students receive assistance that may include school

supplies, transportation, clothes, and after-school

programs, as well as other supports. In New York City,

schools receive technical support from the Students

in Temporary Housing Unit (STH) within the Department

of Education and from the New York State Technical &

Education Assistance Center for Homeless Students

(NYS TEACHS). Teachers and other school personnel

are often the first to identify homeless children who

have slipped between the cracks of the Citys support

systems. This first responder role makes schools

a vitally important link for meeting the needs of

homeless children and their families.1

1 New York City Department of Education, Students in Temporary Housing, http://schools.nyc.gov/StudentSupport/NonAcademicSupport/StudentsinTemporaryHousing/default.htm (accessed July 20, 2015).


Citywide MapsCitywide heat maps are included to enable visual

comparisons across school districts. While the color

of each map varies depending on the information

presented, the darkest shade will generally represent

the worst outcome and the lightest shade, the best

outcome. Most citywide maps are accompanied by tables

that enable comparison across school districts as well as

by student poverty level and type of homelessness. The

five groups shown in the table are: all homeless students,

homeless students living in shelter, homeless students

living doubled up, housed students eligible for free or

reduced-price lunch, and housed students not eligible

for free or reduced-price lunch. Eligibility for free or

reduced-price lunch is a common proxy for low-income

status. In the 2016 Atlas of Student Homelessness text,

low-income students is often used interchangeably

with eligibility for free or reduced-price lunch. All

homeless students are automatically eligible for free

or reduced-price lunch.

MethodologyThe New York City Department of Education provided

access to de-identified student-level data for all students

attending New York City public schools between the

school years of 201011 and 201415. These data, record-

ed at the end of each school year, were linked to annual

student housing status information through a unique

scrambled student identifier. All students were geocoded

based on their last school of enrollment and their school

district number. In order to protect student privacy

and adhere to the Federal Education Rights and Privacy

Act, all numbers and percentages that could potentially

reveal fewer than 10 students have been redacted.

For data reliability, all percentages calculated using fewer

than 30 students have also been omitted. Shelter loca-

tions and capacity were identified using multiple sources

to corroborate addresses.2 Based on the number of

family shelters listed in the December 2015 Shelter

Repair Squad ScorecardShelter Building Listing,

91% of total Tier II shelter units, 74% of total cluster

site shelter units, and 83%of total hotel shelter units in

New York City are included in the 2016 Atlas of Student

Homelessness. The remaining shelters are not included

due to missing or incomplete address information (1,887

units out of 12,839 total family shelter units citywide).

2 New York City Department of Homeless Services,Shelter Repair Squad ScorecardShelter Building Listing, December 2015;New York City Department of Housing Preservationand De-velopment,HPD Building, Registration, and Violation, http://www1.nyc.gov/site/hpd/index.page (accessed May 2016);Legal Aid Society,DHS Family Shelter Facilities, http://www.legal-aid.org/en/civil/civilpractice/homelessrightsproject/materials/toc.aspx (accessed May 2016).

Educational Achievem

ent of Hom

eless Students

42 On The Map: The Atlas of Student Homelessness in New York City ICPHusa.orgInstitute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness ICPHusa.org 43

Geographic Patterns of Absenteeism

Note: Data are by school district for SY 201415 and do not include schools in non-geographic districts.Source: New York City Department of Education, unpublished data tabulated by the Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness, SY 201415.

2

27

2526

29

11

24

22

30

10

8

28

20

3

21

15

6

19

9

14

18

7

17

5

13

1

12

4

32

23

16

8

7

27

27

4

31

18

Chronic Absenteeism Among Homeless StudentsSY 201415

n 17.3%26.5%

n 26.6%33.4%

n 33.5%39.5%

n 39.6%42.5%

n 42.6%52.9%

On average, 22% of students in New York City and 37% of all homeless students were chron-ically absent, missing 20 or more days of school in SY 201415. This rate was a slight improve-ment over the prior year when 23% of all students were chronically absent.

Across all school districts, homeless students living in shelter had the highest rates of chronic absenteeism when compared to all other hous-ing and income groups. Over half of students in shelter were chronically absent compared to 25% of their homeless peers living doubled up, 23% of their low-income housed peers, and 15% of their non-low-income housed peers.

The seven geographic school districts with the highest rates of chro-nic absenteeism among homeless students were: Hunts Point and East Tremont in the Bronx (Districts 8 and 12), Central Harlem in Manhattan (District 5), and Brooklyn Heights, Bedford-Stuyvesant, East New York, and Brownsville in Brooklyn (Districts 13, 16, 19, and 23). In each of these districts, over 43% of homeless students were chronically absent from school.

Homeless students attending New York Citys Special Education District (75) and Alternative Schools & Programs District (79) were partic-ularly vulnerable to chronic absenteeism. More than two-thirds of all homeless students, and three-quarters of homeless students living in shelter, missed 20 or more days of school in these two districts.

City/Borough/ Homeless Housed Select Neighborhoods All All In Doubled Free No Free(School District #) Students Homeless Shelter Up Lunch Lunch

New York City 22.0% 37.4% 57.7% 24.6% 23.1% 15.3%

Manhattan 35.8% 53.6% 24.9% 26.6% 12.4%

Lower East Side (1) 36.5% 47.4% 28.3% 25.9% 11.5%

Financial District/Midtown/Upper East Side (2) 31.6% 53.2% 20.5% 24.8% 11.6%

Upper West Side/Morningside Heights (3) 40.6% 53.6% 29.8% 28.9% 7.7%

East Harlem (4) 38.4% 53.1% 28.4% 23.7% 15.7%

Central Harlem/Manhattanville (5) 44.7% 55.2% 32.7% 32.0% 18.1%

Hamilton/Washington Heights/Inwood (6) 26.5% 51.0% 21.2% 22.2% 16.0%

Bronx 40.7% 58.9% 27.1% 28.9% 21.6%

Mott Haven/Melrose (7) 42.5% 58.2% 30.5% 33.5% 40.9%

Hunts Point/Longwood (8) 46.2% 60.3% 32.4% 32.2% 24.3%

Highbridge/Concourse (9) 41.7% 59.2% 26.0% 28.1% 25.4%

Riverdale/Bedford/Fordham/Belmont (10) 33.4% 54.5% 25.1% 24.9% 17.5%

Williamsbridge/Morris Park/Co-op City (11) 36.8% 56.7% 23.1% 23.8% 14.2%

East Tremont (12) 45.8% 59.2% 29.8% 32.4% 26.4%

City/Borough/ Homeless Housed Select Neighborhoods All In Doubled Free No Free(School District #) Homeless Shelter Up Lunch Lunch

Brooklyn 38.0% 57.7% 24.3% 22.1% 15.3%

Brooklyn Heights/Fort Greene (13) 47.6% 59.8% 35.1% 25.9% 14.1%

Williamsburg/Greenpoint (14) 42.5% 57.8% 30.2% 27.3% 16.0%

Carroll Gardens/Park Slope/Sunset Park (15) 29.7% 47.5% 23.1% 17.9% 7.7%

Bedford-Stuyvesant (16) 46.1% 53.7% 32.0% 32.8% 31.2%

Crown Heights/Prospect Lefferts Gardens (17) 39.5% 55.3% 24.3% 23.0% 20.8%

East Flatbush/Canarsie (18) 36.7% 54.4% 23.8% 24.2% 18.2%

East New York/Starrett City (19) 45.7% 58.7% 32.6% 32.3% 25.5%

Bay Ridge/Dyker Heights/Borough Park (20) 17.3% 44.8% 14.8% 11.9% 12.0%

Coney Island/Gravesend/Ocean Parkway (21) 30.6% 60.8% 22.4% 20.1% 17.1%

Flatbush/Flatlands/Sheepshead Bay (22) 26.5% 53.9% 18.9% 15.2% 10.5%

Brownsville (23) 52.9% 62.1% 31.3% 37.1% 35.2%

Bushwick (32) 39.0% 58.0% 26.7% 24.3% 25.2%

Queens 31.0% 58.8% 20.3% 17.8% 15.6%

Sunnyside/Ridgewood/Elmhurst/Corona (24) 22.7% 55.2% 15.6% 12.7% 12.0%

Flushing/Whitestone (25) 24.2% 62.9% 18.6% 15.9% 14.1%

Bayside/Little Neck/Fresh Meadows/Floral Park (26) 22.1% 54.4% 16.8% 11.4% 8.1%

Woodhaven/Ozone Park/Howard Beach (27) 37.8% 60.3% 24.0% 22.1% 15.8%

Rego Park/Forest Hills/Briarwood (28) 32.5% 52.8% 23.5% 18.3% 12.9%

Hollis/Queens Village (29) 32.7% 54.0% 21.3% 18.1% 14.4%

Astoria/Long Island City (30) 21.7% 53.3% 15.3% 14.8% 11.4%

Staten Island 36.8% 61.2% 27.3% 23.5% 12.0%

Staten Island (31) 36.1% 60.1% 27.3% 22.7% 11.5%

Citywide Special Education (75) 67.6% 74.6% 55.2% 48.5% 38.8%

Citywide Alternative Schools & Programs (79) 77.8% 81.9% 76.4% 74.1% 64.0%

Chronic Absenteeism Rate, School Year 201415

Homeless

37.4%

Housed, Free Lunch

23.1% Citywide: 22.0%

15.3%

Housed, No Free Lunch

Note: Data by school district do not include schools in non-geographic districts so borough and district total percentages may differ. Ns of fewer than 30 students were redacted.

Source: New York City Department of Education, unpublished data tabulated by the Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness, SY 201415.

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3 U.S. Department of Education, Laws & Guidance: Part CHomeless Education, http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/pg116.html (accessed July 20, 2015).

Out of 1,753 total public schools in New York City in

SY 201415, 1,682 (96%) had a physical address and

were mappable. An additional 322 schools in which

fewer than 10 students were homeless were excluded

to protect student privacy and one school was excluded

because it was located outside of the geographic bound-

ary of New York City, leaving 1,359 schools in the citywide

map. Because of the large degree of variation in school

district size, individual district maps are shown in six

different scales, with the distance per inch at the bottom.

Only schools that are administered by a given district

are included in each map. For easy comparison, data

groupings for the percentage of students homeless by

school on district-level maps are matched to those used

in ICPHs 2015 Atlas of Student Homelessness. Natural

breaksa method of grouping data with similar values

while maximizing the difference between groupswere

used for all other maps, unless otherwise noted. Data

analysis for the 2016 Atlas of Student Homelessness

was conducted in Stata and geographic maps were

created in ArcGIS.

LimitationsBecause homeless students are eligible under

the McKinney-Vento Act to remain at their school of

origin or enroll in their local school, data represent where

students attend school and should not be interpreted as

providing information about where homeless students

live.3 Information presented in the 2016 Atlas of Student

Homelessness is specific to homeless students attending

New York City Department of Education Public Schools

and should not be generalized to New York City Charter

Schools. While the total number of homeless charter

school students is reported to the State annually, more

detailed information on the outcomes of homeless stu-

dents attending charter schools is not publicly available.

Finally, information on homeless students and families is

self-reported by the family. A family that does not wish

to be identified as homeless may not report that status.



Educational Outcomes of Homeless Students Mid-Year Transfer Rate

Chronic Absenteeism Rate

Received IEP Late

English Language Learner

Math Proficiency 38 Grade

ELA Proficiency 38 Grade

Suspension Rate

Dropout Rate

Graduation Rate

Homelessness and Poverty Among Studentsn Homeless

n Formerly Homeless

n Housed, Free Lunch

n Housed, No Free Lunch

Where Homeless Students Sleepn Doubled Up

n In Shelter

n Unsheltered

n Other

City School District 8 Bronx

25%

46%

68%

19%

12%

11%

4.6%

22%

39%

12%

6%

62%

20%

47%

46%

7%

1%

Notes: The number of shelter units in a school district and the number of in shelter students are not the same; students in shelter may attend schools in districts where they do not live, and each shelter unit can house more than one child. The number of homeless students represents where students attend school; homeless students may attend schools in districts where they do not live. Students who expe-rienced homelessness in the last five years is the ratio of currently homeless and formerly homeless students to the total number of students in the district. Formerly homeless students are defined as those who are currently housed but experienced homelessness at any point during SY 201011 to SY 201314. Notes on educational outcomes are listed in Section 3. Percentages may not add to 100% due to rounding.Sources: New York City Department of Education Division of School Budget Planning & Operations, FY15 Fair Student Funding Program Details; New York City Department of Education, unpublished data tabulated by the Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness, SY 201011 to SY 201415; New York City Department of Homeless Services.

702Shelter Units

23 Family Shelters

1 out of 6 Students Experienced Homelessness in the Last Five Years

$4,877 Average Pre-K8th Grade Per Student Fair Student Funding Based on End of Year Enrollment

Rank By Highest Percent of Students Homeless

5 Out of Six City School Districts in the Bronx

10 Out of 32 Total Districts in New York City

School Year 201415 Homeless Housed All In Doubled Free No Free Homeless Shelter Up Lunch Lunch

Number of Students

% Pre-K

% Elementary School

% Middle School

% High School

% Hispanic

% Black

% White

% Asian

% Other

Mid-Year Transfer Rate

Chronic Absenteeism Rate

Received IEP Late

English Language Learner

Math Proficiency 38 Grade

ELA Proficiency 38 Grade

Suspension Rate

Homeless Housed All Ever In Never In Free No Free Homeless Shelter Shelter Lunch Lunch

Dropout Rate

Graduation Rate

3,747 1,716 1,746 20,681 6,409

10% 3% 6% 59% 31%

14% 7% 7% 68% 18%

12% 5% 6% 69% 20%

9% 4% 4% 66% 25%

11% 5% 6% 70% 19%

16% 10% 5% 64% 19%

5% 1% 3% 58% 37%

9% 0% 8% 65% 26%

12% 6% 6% 56% 32%

25% 33% 18% 12% 10%

46% 60% 32% 32% 24%

68% 46%

19% 11% 29% 12% 11%

12% 9% 15% 22% 29%

11% 7% 14% 19% 28%

4.6% 6.1% 2.4% 3.8% 3.4%

22% 8% 30% 18% 20%

39% 52% 32% 51% 57%

Hunts PointLongwood

School District Pages

Select neighborhoods and location of school district in New York City.

Number of shelter units and shelters in the district for families with children. The number of units is a rough approximation of the total number of families in shelter in the school district.

The number of students who have experienced homeless-ness in the last five years is the ratio of students who are cur-rently homeless plus students who are formerly homeless over all students in the district.

The average pre-K8th grade per student Fair Student Funding is the total amount of Fair Student Funding received by the district for pre-K8th grade students divided by the total district pre-K8th grade enrollment at the end of the school year.

by type of homelessness by examining differences between homeless students in shelter and homeless students doubled up. Eligibility for free or reduced- price lunch is used as a proxy for student poverty.

Comparison between homeless students, housed students who are poor, and housed students who are not poor within the district. Additionally, comparisons can be made

Because homeless students do not always live in their school district, the number of students in shelter is not necessarily related to the number of shelter units in the district.

Rankings are shown by borough and citywide, with a ranking of 1 indicating the highest percent of students who are homeless.

Data specific to homeless students attending school within the district.

Users G

uide


Color and size of dots represent the proportion of homeless students at each school. As the percent increases, the color darkens and the dot size becomes bigger.

Concentric circles with multiple colors indicate co-located schools with differing rates of homelessness.

Blue squares indicate the three categories of shelters for families with children. Tier II Shelter: Shelter operators provide private rooms for homeless families, along with cafeteria meals or kitchen facilities. Hotel Shelter: Rooms in private hotels that the City pays for per night in order to house homeless families. Cluster Site: Private apart-ments that the City leases through non-profit and for-profit groups for the purpose of housing homeless families. Hotel shelters and cluster sites are more likely to operate as non-contracted emergency shel-ters on a per diem basis with the City. Recent City inspections have highlighted more health and safety violations in cluster site and hotel shelter than in Tier II facilities.1

1 New York City Department of Investi-gation, DOI Investigation of 25 City-Run Homeless Shelters for Families Finds Serious Deficiencies, March 12, 2015.

Green and purple squares indicate the locations of community resources. HomeBase locations offer resources and referrals such as eviction prevention mediation, financial counseling, short-term emergency funding, and public benefits for families struggling with poverty. Runaway and homeless youth services

provide a range of supports for unaccompanied youth, including Drop-in Centers, Crisis Shelters, and Street Outreach. Programs also support youth who are preg-nant or parenting, LGBTQ youth and youth who have experienced sexual exploitation. Health and Immunization Centers are run by the New York City Health and

Hospitals Corporation. These provide free or low-cost medical care to people regardless of im- migration status or ability to pay and can be valuable referral sites for homeless students whose immunization records are not up to date or for those who struggle with chronic health conditions such as asthma and diabetes.

Because of the large degree of variation in school district sizes, district maps are displayed at six different zoom levels. Maps at the two highest zoom levels include park names for additional geographic reference. Scales are included in all maps to show relative distance.

Hom

eless Students by District


City School District 8 District Boundaries

Percent Homeless by School

0%8%

8.1%20% 20.1%30%

30.1%40%

40.1%46.8%

Family Shelters

Tier II

Hotel

Cluster Site

Community Resources

HomeBase

Runaway and Homeless Youth Services

Health Center and Immunization Facility

Notes: In order to protect student privacy and adhere to the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, schools with fewer than 10 homeless students are excluded from the map. If a school appears on this map outside of the geographic boundary, then it is because the school is administered by this district.Source: Legal Aid Society; New York City Department of City Planning; New York City Department of Education, unpublished data tabulated by the Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness, SY 201415; New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development; New York City Department of Youth and Community Development; New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation.

St. Raymond NewCemetery

PelhamBay Park

FerryPointPark

PelhamBayPark

BronxBotanicalGardens

SoundView Park

BronxZoologicalGardens

LaGuardia Airport

MALBA

BELMONT

MELROSE

FORDHAM

LONGWOOD

UNIONPORT

CONCOURSE

OLINVILLE

SOUNDVIEW

BEECHHURST

WHITESTONE

MORRISANIA

MOTT HAVEN

BAYCHESTER

MORRIS PARK

THROGS NECK

SCHUYLERVILLE

PELHAM PARKWAY

VANNEST

MOUNTEDEN

PELHAMBAY

WESTFARMS

CO-OPCITY

BAYTERRACE

CASTLEHILL

PORTMORRIS

CITYISLAND

MARBLEHILL

COUNTRYCLUB

CLASONPOINT

BEDFORDPARK

COLLEGEPOINT

PELHAMGARDENS

EDGEWATERPARK

CLAREMONTVILLAGE

UNIVERSITYHEIGHTS

RIKERSISLAND

STEINWAY

NORWOOD

PARKCHESTER

MOUNTHOPE

HUNTSPOINT

EASTTREMONT

MORRISHEIGHTS

WESTCHESTERSQUARE

1 Mile


Overview

: Hom

eless Students in New

York City

Overview: Homeless Students in New York CityHomelessness impacts every school district across the city. Over 82,000 students attending New York City Public Schools were homeless in School Year (SY) 201415, and one out of eight students had experienced homelessness at some point between SY 201011 and SY 201415. The information presented in this section provides an overview of homelessness among students in New York City. Building off of the 2015 Atlas of Student Homelessness, the 2016 Atlas of Student Homelessness examines differences in student outcomes by the type of homelessness experienced, including whether students were living in shelter, doubled up, unsheltered, or housed but with a history of homelessness (formerly homeless). Additional indicators of school success, such as the timing of when students with special education needs are first identified for services (IEPs), are also included.

Children are most likely to experience homeless-ness when they are youngbefore third grade.

One out of every eight students attending school in SY 201415 had experienced homelessness within the past five school years.

Forty percent of homeless elementary students living in shelter transferred during the school year compared to just 9% of their housed peers.

Across grade levels, homeless students living in shelter had higher rates of chronic absenteeism than not only their housed peers, but also homeless students living doubled up.

Homelessness has a lasting negative impact on grade-level proficiency and retention rates.

Only one-third of homeless students with special education needs received their IEP by the end of Kindergarten, a much lower rate than that of students who were always housed.

More eligible homeless children enrolled in pre-K in SY 201415 than in the prior school year.

Homeless students living in shelter during all four years of high school dropped out at rates that were no different than their housed peers.

Student Homelessness Remains Pervasive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Most Children Are Homeless for More Than One School Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Hispanics and Blacks Are Over-Represented . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Young Students Are Most at Risk for Homelessness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Housing Instability Undermines School Stability . 17

Empty Seats: Who Is Missing? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Aftershocks of Homelessness on Grade-Level Proficiency . . . 19

Left Back: Who Is Retained? . . 20

Lasting Impact on Grade Retention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Unequal Discipline: Who Is Suspended? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Overlooked: Who Receives Late IEPs? . . . . . . . 23

Early Intervention Matters . . . . 24

Defying the Odds in High School: Who Is Dropping Out and Who Is Graduating? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26


Student Homelessness Remains Pervasive

One out of every eight students attending school in SY 201415 had been homeless at some point since SY 201011over 127,000 students.

New York City continues to have over 80,000 homeless public school students in SY 201415.

For every homeless student living in a City shelter, there are roughly two more who are homeless living in some other temporary location, such as doubled up with another family.

For the first time since SY 201011, the number of homeless students in New York City declined slightly from just over 84,000 in SY 201314 to roughly 82,500 in SY 201415. This decrease was seen primarily among unsheltered and doubled- up students, while the number of students living in shelter increased slightly by 2%.

Homeless Students in New York City Public SchoolsSY 201011 to SY 201415

n Doubled Up n In Shelter n Unsheltered n Other

Note: In earlier school years, the total number of unsheltered students may be less reliable than other categories.Source: New York City Department of Education, unpublished data tabulated by the Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness, SY 201011 to SY 201415.

29,848

47,946

Total67,215

Total82,463

27,02729,202

9,749 4,545591SY 201011 SY 201213

770SY 201415


Overview

: Hom


York City

Most Children Are Homeless for More Than One School Year

Homelessness is not a brief or isolated experience for New York City school children.

Over two-thirds of students who were homeless in SY 201415 had been homeless during a previous school year.

It was common for homeless students to experience multiple housing transitions from one year to the next. Among students who were homeless during more than one school year, over three-quarters experienced more than one type of homelessness or transitioned in and out of permanent housing more than once.

Hispanics and Blacks Are Over-Represented

Over half of all homeless students in New York City were Hispanic in SY 201415.

While black and Hispanic students made up 66% of New York City public school students overall, they represented 86% of students who were homeless in SY 201415.

Duration of Homelessness SY 201415

n 1 Year 31%

n 2 Years 22%

n 3 Years 17%

n 4 Years 13%

n 5 Years 17%

Source: New York City Department of Education, unpublished data tabulated by the Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness, SY 201011 to SY 201415.

Race and Ethnicity of Homeless StudentsSY 201415

n Hispanic 52%

n Black 34%

n Asian 9%

n White 4%

n Other 1%



Number of Homeless Students by Grade (% in Grade) SY 201415

Note: Total students by grade does not equal the total for all homeless students. Only students in grades pre-K12 are included. Source: New York City Department of Education, unpublished data tabulated by the Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness, SY 201415.

11th Grade

12th Grade

1 The Institute for Children, Poverty and Homelessness, Aftershocks: The Lasting Impact of Homelessness on Student Achievement, February 2016.

Young Students Are Most at Risk for Homelessness

Children are most likely to experience homeless-ness when they are young. In SY 201415, 36% of homeless students were enrolled in pre-K through 2nd grade. By comparison, only 28% of housed students were enrolled in these early grades. Homelessness prior to 3rd grade has been shown to have long-term effects on later grade-level proficiency.1

More eligible homeless children enrolled in pre-K in SY 201415 than in the prior school year. Enrollment among homeless pre-K students increased by 17%, or over 750 students, sug-gesting that New York Citys expansion of public pre-K is reaching more homeless students.

Despite this progress, the enrollment gap between pre-K and Kindergarten suggests that over 2,000 homeless children eligible for pre-K were not reached in SY 201415 by the program.

In high school, the spike in 9th and 10th grade followed by a drop in 11th and 12th is reflective of homeless students being held back and dropping out of school.

5,500 (8.1%)

7,604 (9.7%)

8,330 (10.4%)

7,796 (9.7%)

6,897 (9.0%)

6,350 (8.4%)

5,598 (7.8%)

5,043 (7.2%)

4,927 (7.0%)

4,760 (6.6%)

6,378 (7.2%)

Homeless

Pre-K2nd Grade 3rd8th Grade 9th12th Grade

Housed

5,321 (6.0%)

3,143 (4.6%)

2,997 (4.0%)

Kindergarten

Pre-K

1st Grade

2nd Grade

3rd Grade

4th Grade

5th Grade

6th Grade

7th Grade

8th Grade

9th Grade

10th Grade

36% 42% 22%

28% 41% 31%


Overview

: Hom


York City

Transfer Rates by Housing Status and Grade LevelPercent of Students Who Transferred Mid-Year

SY 201415

n All Homeless n All Housed

Homeless

In Shelter

Doubled Up

Unsheltered

Note: All homeless includes all categories of homelessness. Homeless students who were awaiting foster care or paying for a hotel/motel outside of the shelter system are not shown due to small sample size. See Glossary for homelessness category definitions.


Housing Instability Undermines School Stability

Every school transfer is estimated to set a student back academically by up to six months.2

Homeless students continued to transfer at close to three times the rate of housed students overall in SY 201415 (21% compared to 8%).

Homeless elementary students had the highest rate of mid-year transfers (25%) by age group. This rate was higher for those who were living in shelter; 40% transferred during the school year.

Number of Mid-Year Transfers Per StudentSY 201415

n Homeless n Housed

Note: The category of 3 Transfers published in the 2015 Atlas of Student Homelessness is synonymous to the 3 or More Transfers category shown here. Source: New York City Department of Education, unpublished data tabulated by the Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness, SY 201415.

2 U.S. Department of Education, Report to the President and Congress on the Implementa-tion of the Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program under the McKinney- Vento Homeless Assistance Act, http://www2.ed.gov/programs/homeless/rpt2006.doc (accessed July 21, 2015).

Pre-K

Pre-K

Elementary School

Elementary School

Middle School

Middle School

High School

High School

10%

1 Transfer 2 Transfers 3 or More Transfers

17.5%

7.3%

3.1%

0.8% 0.7% 0.2%

6%9%

25%

20%

7%

19%

9%

19%

7%

12%

40%

16%

23%

30%

13%

16%

23%

15%

24%


Empty Seats: Who Is Missing?

Chronic absenteeism is one of the strongest predictors of student achievement and graduation.3 Homeless students were chronically absent, missing 20 or more days of school, at close to twice the rate of housed students overall (37% compared to 21%).

More than one in seven homeless students (15%) missed 40 or more days of school roughly 20% of the school year.

Across grade levels, homeless students living in shelter had higher rates of chronic absenteeism than their homeless peers living doubled up.

Days Absent by Housing StatusSY 201415

All Homeless

n 40 or More Days n 2039 Days n 519 Days n 04 Days

All Housed

n 40 or More Days n 2039 Days n 519 Days n 04 Days


3 Johns Hopkins School of Education, Meeting the Challenge of Combating Chronic Absentee-ism, October 2011; Baltimore Education Research Consortium, Early Elementary Performance and Attendance in Baltimore City Schools Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten, March 2012.

Chronic Absenteeism Rates by Housing Status and Grade LevelPercent of Students Who Missed 20 or More Days of School

SY 201415

n All Homelesss n All Housed

Homeless

In Shelter

Doubled Up

Unsheltered

Note: All homeless includes all categories of homelessness. Homeless students who were awaiting foster care or paying for a hotel/motel outside of the shelter system are not shown due to small sample size. See Glossary for homelessness category definitions.


Pre-K

Pre-K

Elementary School

Elementary School

Middle School

Middle School

High School

High School

51%

33%

16%

35% 33%

16%

45%

30%

68%

42%

52%

57%

23%

29%

53%

20%

34%

63%

31%

56%

20%

33%

42%

46%

23%

13%

15%

7%


Overview

: Hom


York City

Achievement Among Formerly Homeless StudentsSY 201415

n Currently Homeless n Formerly Homelessn Always Housed, Free Lunch n Always Housed, No Free Lunch

Math Proficiency Rate (3rd8th Grade)

English Language Arts Proficiency Rate (3rd8th Grade)

Note: Formerly homeless students are defined as those who are currently housed but experienced homelessness at any point during SY 201011 to SY 201314. Source: New York City Department of Education, unpublished data tabulated by the Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness, SY 201011 to SY 201415.

Aftershocks of Homelessness on Grade-Level Proficiency

Homelessness has a lasting impact on school achievement. In both English and math, students who were currently housed but had experienced homelessness (formerly homeless) met grade-level proficiency standards at rates that were almost the same as their currently homeless peers (18% compared to 21% respec-tively in math and 14% compared to 17% respectively in English).

Across all school districts, formerly homeless students were grade-level proficient at rates that were lower than their peers who were low-income but had never experienced home-lessness (always housed, eligible for free lunch). The gap in proficiency was on average 13 per-centage points lower in math and 12 percentage points lower in English.

18%21%

34%

65%

14%17%

29%

62%


Retention Rates by Housing Status and Grade LevelPercent of Students Held Back

SY 201415


Homeless

In Shelter

Doubled Up

Unsheltered

Note: This figure uses the words retention and held back interchangeably. All homeless includes all categories of homelessness. Homeless students who were awaiting foster care or paying for a hotel/motel outside of the shelter system are not shown due to small sample size. Pre-K is not shown due to small sample size. See Glossary for homelessness category definitions.Source: New York City Department of Education, unpublished data tabulated by the Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness, SY 201314 and SY 201415.

Left Back: Who Is Retained?

Homeless students were retained at higher rates than their housed peers across grade levels.

Among elementary students, those living in shelter had the highest rates of grade retention at 7%. This was over twice the grade retention rate of housed students overall.

High school homeless students saw the highest rates of grade retention at 17% compared to 13% for housed students overall. Retention rates were particularly high for high school students who were unsheltered and those who were homeless living in shelter (25% and 22% respectively).

ElementarySchool

Elementary School

Middle School

Middle School

High School

High School

5.0%

2.4% 2.5%1.0%

17.3%

13.0%

7.1%

21.8%

3.8%

3.8%

4.8%

12.6%

24.6%

1.4%

4.0%


Overview

: Hom


York City

Lasting Impact on Grade Retention

Homelessness placed students at risk educationally even after housing instability was over.

One out of every five students who experienced homelessness between SY 201011 and SY 201415 was retained after being homeless. This was four times the rate of students who were housed and not low-income (5%).

Grade Retentions Among Students Who Ever Experienced HomelessnessPercent of Students Held Back at Some Point

SY 201011 to SY 201415

Note: This figure uses the words retention and held back interchangeably. Homeless category represents the percentage of students who were retained in any years following their first year of homelessness. Students who were retained before becoming homeless were excluded from the calculation. Housed categories represent the percentages of students who were always housed and ever retained during the five-year period.


Ever Homeless

Always Housed,

Free Lunch

Always Housed, No Free Lunch

Citywide: 14%

20%

15%

5%


Suspension Rates by Housing Status and Grade LevelPercent of Students Suspended

SY 201415


Homeless

In Shelter

Doubled Up

Unsheltered

Note: All homeless includes all categories of homelessness. Homeless students who wereawaiting foster care or paying for a hotel/motel outside of the shelter system are not shown due to small sample size. Pre-K is not shown due to small sample size. See Glossary for homelessness category definitions.Source: New York City Department of Education, unpublished data tabulated by the Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness, SY 201415.

Unequal Discipline: Who Is Suspended?

Across grade levels, homeless students experienced higher rates of suspension than their housed peers.

This was particularly true for homeless students living in shelter, who were suspended at over two times the rate of their housed peers.

Middle school students living in shelter saw the highest rate of suspension with one out of every nine students suspended.

Elementary School

Elementary School

Middle School

Middle School

High School

High School

1.2%0.7%

7.6% 7.5%

4.4%

5.1%

2.0%

10.9%11.5%

0.7%4.8%4.7%

2.0%

9.7%9.1%


Overview

: Hom


York City

Overlooked: Who Receives Late IEPs?

The Individualized Education Program (IEP) is a mandated plan outlining the special educa-tion services a student will receive to support their learning while facing challenges within one of 13 disability categories such as speech/language impairment and learning disabilities. Districts are legally required under the Child Find law to identify and evaluate all children with disabilities.4 Over 36,500 students with special needs experienced housing instability between SY 201011 and SY 201415. These students face many challenges, and key among these is the early identification and receipt of services to meet their individual educational needs. Only one-third of homeless students with an IEP were identified for their IEP by the end of Kindergarten compared to half of housed IEP students.

Year Received an IEPSY 201011 to SY 201415

n Homeless (N=2,219) n Housed (N=14,243)

Note: Data represent a cohort of students who entered Kindergarten in SY 201011 and received an IEP at some point during the next five years. Students are categorized according to whether they experienced homelessness at any point during the five-year period.


50%

24%

37%

17%

SY 201011 (Kindergarten)

SY 201112 SY 201213 SY 201314 SY 201415

4 U.S. Department of Education, Topic: Individualized Education Program (IEP), http://idea.ed.gov/explore/view/p/%2Croot%2Cdynamic%2CTopicalBrief%2C10%2C, accessed May 19, 2016.


Early Intervention Matters

Connecting homeless students with needed supports can increase educational success. Homeless students who receive IEPs early are more likely to achieve grade-level proficiency and less likely to be suspended.

Homeless special needs students who had IEPs by the end of Kindergarten were twice as likely to score proficient on 4th-grade State assessments (19% compared to 9%).

When homeless students IEP needs were identified by Kindergarten, suspension rates were roughly half those of their homeless peers identified later.

4th-Grade State Assessment Proficiency Rates by Year Received an IEPPercent of IEP Students Who Scored Proficient on One or Both State Assessments in 4th Grade

SY 201011 to SY 201415

n n n Received IEP SY 201011 (Kindergarten)

n n n Received IEP SY 201112 (1st Grade)

n n n Received IEP SY 201213 (2nd Grade)

n n n Received IEP SY 201314 (3rd Grade)

n n n Received IEP SY 201415 (4th Grade)

Note: IEP group students who were held back or followed a nontraditional path for another reason were excluded from the chart. Only students who progressed from Kindergarten to 4th grade over the five-year period were included. Data represent a cohort of students who entered Kindergarten in SY 201011 and received an IEP at some point during the next five years. Students are categorized according to whether they experienced homelessness at any point during the five-year period.


32%

29%

22%

18%

16%

19%

12%

10% 10% 9%

33%

31%

24%

20%

17%

Overall Homeless Housed

N=

5,4

42

N=

508

N=

4,93

4

N=

1,0

85

N=

140

N=

945

N=

1,162

N=

168

N=

994

N=

1,720

N=

245

N=

1,475

N=

971

N=

102

N=

869


Overview

: Hom


York City

Suspension Rate Among Students Who Received IEPs by the End of KindergartenSY 201011 to SY 201415

n Homeless (N=811) n Housed (N=7,121)



Suspension Rate Among Students Who Received IEPs Late (After Kindergarten)SY 201011 to SY 201415

n Homeless (N=1,408) n Housed (N=7,122)





SY 201112SY 201112 SY 201213SY 201213 SY 201314SY 201314 SY 201415SY 201415

2.2%

1.5%

0.7% 0.9%

1.8%

3.5%

0.9%

1.7%1.8%

3.1%

1.0%

1.8%1.7%

4.4%4.5%

1.0%

1.9%

2.3%

1.9%

1.0%


Defying the Odds in High School: Who Is Dropping Out and Who Is Graduating?

Homeless students living in shelter during all four years of high school dropped out at rates that were statistically no different than their housed peers.

Only 6% of students who were homeless and living in shelter during all four years of high school dropped out. This falls between the drop-out rate for low-income and non-low-income housed students (9% and 4%).

The dropout rate for students who were homeless for all four years of high school but never entered a City shelter was over twice the rate of students living in shelter for all four years (15% compared to 6%).

Transitions into and out of permanent housing appear to have the greatest negative impact on students, doubling dropout rates when compared to peers in similar settings who experienced no transitions.

Four-Year Dropout Rate, Class of 2015

Note: Students who were both in shelter and lived in another homeless situation (doubled up, paying for a hotel/motel outside of the shelter system, awaiting foster care, or unsheltered) at some point were excluded from the comparison (112 students). Homeless, in Shelter, All 4 Years is not significantly different from either housed group. Homeless, in Shelter, Transitioned in/out of Housing group is not significantly different from Homeless, Never in Shelter, All 4 Years. All other pairs are significantly different. Students are categorized according to whether they experienced homelessness or were eligible for free lunch at any point during their high school career.Source: New York City Department of Education, unpublished data tabulated by the Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness, SY 201112 to SY 201415.

All Citywide: 9.0%

All Homeless: 17.8%

All Housed: 8.2%


Housed, Free

Lunch

Homeless, in Shelter, All 4 Years

Homeless, in Shelter,

Transitioned in/out of Housing

Homeless, Never

in Shelter, All 4 Years

Homeless, Never

in Shelter, Transitioned

in/out of Housing

8.6%

4.3%

6.4%

14.4% 14.7%

26.3%

N=

7,32

4

N=

60,8

20

N=

838

N=

1,91

8

N=

2,0

78

N=

645


Overview

: Hom


York City

Graduation rates for students who were homeless and living in shelter all four years were essentially the same as the rates for low-income housed students (69% and 71% respectively).

Homeless students living in other homeless situations, particularly those who experienced a transition into or out of permanent housing, had the lowest four-year graduation rate40%.

Four-Year Graduation Rate, Class of 2015

Note: Students who were both in shelter and lived in another homeless situation (doubled-up, paying for a hotel/motel outside of the shelter system, awaiting foster care, or unsheltered) at some point were excluded from the comparison (112 students). All pairs are significantly different from each other except Housed, Free Lunch and Homeless, in Shelter, All 4 Years. Students are categorized according to whether they experienced homelessness or were eligible for free lunch at any point during their high school career.Source: New York City Department of Education, unpublished data tabulated by the Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness, SY 201112 to SY 201415.

All Citywide: 70%

All Homeless: 52%

All Housed: 72%


Housed, Free

Lunch

Homeless, in Shelter, All 4 Years

Homeless, in Shelter,

Transitioned in/out of Housing

Homeless, Never

in Shelter, All 4 Years

Homeless, Never

in Shelter, Transitioned

in/out of Housing

87%

71% 69%

60%

49%

40%

N=

7,32

4

N=

60,8

20

N=

838

N=

1,91

8

N=

2,0

78

N=

645

The G

eography of Student Hom

elessness


The Geography of Student HomelessnessWhile homeless children attend schools in every district, homelessness is not equally distributed across the city. Dramatic differences are evident between districts, adjoining schools within districts, and even among schools co-located within the same building. This section provides information on the geographic distribution of homelessness among students in New York City and how patterns differ by the types of homelessness children experience. Additionally, this years Atlas of Student Homelessness explores mid-year transfer patterns, late enrollment, and the funding challenges these create.

For every student living in shelter, there were two more homeless students living in some other temporary situation. The majority of these students were living doubled up.

Over 15,000 homeless students attended just two school districts in the Bronx.

The top five school districts for the number of homeless students transferring mid-year were all in the Bronx.

One out of every five students who transferred school mid-year in SY 201415 was homeless.

Over 33,000 students enrolled after October 31, the official enrollment count date; 22% of these students were homeless compared to 8% of students overall.

Many school districts face the dual challenges of high homelessness and late enrollment, creating additional strain on limited school funding.

Where Are Homeless Students? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Differences in Pre-K Enrollment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Where Sheltered and Doubled-up Students Go to School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Patterns of School Transfers Among Homeless Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Late Enrollment Impacts Funding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36


Where Are Homeless Students?

Note: Data are by school district and do not include schools in non-geographic districts. Percentage groupings for the map of homeless students by district and the map of homeless pre-K students by district are matched for the purpose of comparison. For comparison and readability, number breaks are manually classified to match the 2015 Atlas of Student Homelessness.


Homeless students attended school in every school district in New York City in SY 201415 with an average of 8% of students homeless citywide.

In eight school districts between 13% and 18% of students were homeless. These districts included East Harlem, Central Harlem, Mott Haven, Highbridge, East Tremont, Fordham, Bedford-Stuyvesant, and Brownsville (Districts 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12, 16, and 23).

Over 15,000 homeless students attended just two school districts in the Bronx (Districts 9 and 10), encompassing the Highbridge/Concourse neighborhoods north through the Fordham, Belmont, and Bedford areas of the Bronx.

2

27

2526

29

11

24

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Number and Percent of Students Homeless by School DistrictSY 201415

Number Homeless 6151,200

1,2012,000

2,0013,000

3,0014,000 4,0018,557Percent Homeless

n 1.9%5.5%

n 5.6%8.3%

n 8.4%12.9%

n 13.0%18.0%

Student Homelessness, School Year 201415 Number Percent Rank Select Neighborhoods (School District #) Homeless Homeless

Top Districts by Percent Homeless

1 Highbridge/Concourse (9) 6,899 18.0%

2 Central Harlem/Manhattanville (5) 2,131 16.0%

3 Bedford-Stuyvesant (16) 1,267 15.2%

4 Brownsville (23) 1,617 15.2%

5 Riverdale/Bedford/Fordham/Belmont (10) 8,557 14.5%

Bottom Districts by Percent Homeless

28 Woodhaven/Ozone Park/Howard Beach (27) 2,007 4.3%

29 Carroll Gardens/Park Slope/Sunset Park (15) 1,361 4.2%

30 Staten Island (31) 2,004 3.2%

31 Flushing/Whitestone (25) 1,218 3.1%

32 Bayside/Little Neck/Fresh Meadows/Floral Park (26) 615 1.9%

The G


elessness


Pre-K Student Homelessness, School Year 201415 Expected Percent of Homeless Pre-K Students Pre-K Rank Select Neighborhoods (School District #) Homeless Enrollment

Top Districts for Expected Pre-K Enrollment

1 Upper West Side/Morningside Heights (3) 15.2% More Than Expected

2 Hamilton/Washington Heights/Inwood (6) 18.0% More Than Expected

Bottom Districts for Expected Pre-K Enrollment

31 East New York/Starrett City (19) 8.3% Less Than Expected

32 Crown Heights/Prospect Lefferts Gdns (17) 9.7% Less Than Expected

Differences in Pre-K Enrollment

Note: Data are by school district and do not include schools in non-geographic districts. Percentage groupings for the map of homeless students by district and the map of homeless pre-K students by district are matched for the purpose of comparison. Expected pre-K enrollment refers to the comparison between the percentage of pre-K students homeless and the percentage of Kindergarteners and 1st-Graders who were homeless. Districts that enrolled roughly the same had enrollment of the two groups within two percentage points of each other; those that enrolled more or less than expected saw at least a two percentage-point enrollment difference.


On average, 8% of pre-K students were homeless in SY 201415, ranging from 1% in Bayside, Queens (District 26) to 19% in Central Harlem (District 5).

Only two school districts enrolled more homeless pre-K students than expected based on the percentage of homeless Kindergarten and 1st-grade students enrolled in their district. These districts included the Upper West Side and Washington Heights in Manhattan (Districts 3 and 6).

The majority of school districts enrolled fewer homeless pre-K students than would be expected. The two districts with the largest gaps were Crown Heights and East New York in Brooklyn (Districts 17 and 19).

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Percent of Pre-K Students Homeless by School DistrictSY 201415

Expected Pre-K Enrollment

Less Than Expected

Roughly the Same

More Than Expected

Percent of Pre-K Students Homeless

n 0.9%5.5%

n 5.6%8.3%

n 8.4%12.9%

n 13.0%18.0%

n 18.1%19.1%


Where Sheltered and Doubled-up Students Go to School

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Number of Doubled-UpStudents by SchoolSY 201415 018

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137360*

*Numbers of doubled-up students are rounded down in order to protect student privacy and adhere to the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act. Note: Data include schools in both geographic and non-geographic districts. Data groupings for the map of doubled-up students by school and the map of sheltered students by school are matched for the purpose of comparison. For comparison and readability, number breaks are manually classified to match the 2015 Atlas of Student Homelessness.Source: New York City Department of Education, unpublished data tabulated by the Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness, SY 201415.

Doubled-up students attended schools across the city, including many areas with no family shelters. This pattern was particularly notice-able in areas of Queens and southern Brooklyn.

P.S. 503, The School of Discovery, in Bay Ridge (District 20) had over 360 doubled-up students. This was the largest number of doubled-up students enrolled in any school in New York City in SY 201415.

Top 10 Schools for Doubled-Up Students Homeless, All Rank School Name School Level Select Neighborhoods (School District #) Borough Doubled Up* Homeless

1 P.S. 503 The School of Discovery Elementary Bay Ridge/Dyker Heights/Borough Park (20) Brooklyn 360 371

2 P.S. 019 Marino Jeantet Elementary Sunnyside/Ridgewood/Elmhurst/Corona (24) Queens 300 314

3 P.S. 086 Kingsbridge Heights Elementary/Middle Riverdale/Bedford/Fordham/Belmont (10) Bronx 300 339

4 New Utrecht High School High Bay Ridge/Dyker Heights/Borough Park (20) Brooklyn 300 323

5 Franklin Delano Roosevelt High School High Bay Ridge/Dyker Heights/Borough Park (20) Brooklyn 260 304

6 P.S. 149 Christa Mcauliffe Elementary Astoria/Long Island City (30) Queens 245 258

7 P.S. 002 Meyer London Elementary Financial District/Midtown/Upper East Side (2) Manhattan 245 256

8 P.S. 152 Gwendoline N. Alleyne School Elementary/Middle Astoria/Long Island City (30) Queens 235 246

9 P.S. 046 Edgar Allan Poe Elementary Riverdale/Bedford/Fordham/Belmont (10) Bronx 235 323

10 P.S. 279 Captain Manuel Rivera, Jr. Elementary/Middle Riverdale/Bedford/Fordham/Belmont (10) Bronx 235 315

The G


elessness


Top 10 Schools for Students in Shelter Homeless, All Rank School Name School Level Select Neighborhoods (School District #) Borough In Shelter Homeless

1 P.S. 053 Basheer Quisim Elementary Highbridge/Concourse (9) Bronx 308 451

2 P.S./M.S. 004 Crotona Park West Elementary/Middle Highbridge/Concourse (9) Bronx 238 276

3 P.S. 188 The Island School Elementary/Middle Lower East Side (1) Manhattan 154 215

4 P.S. 006 West Farms Elementary East Tremont (12) Bronx 143 196

5 P.S. 048 Joseph R. Drake Elementary Hunts Point/Longwood (8) Bronx 142 270

6 Christopher Avenue Community School Elementary Brownsville (23) Brooklyn 131 144

7 P.S. 062 Inocensio Casanova Elementary Hunts Point/Longwood (8) Bronx 130 173

8 P.S. 156 Waverly Elementary Brownsville (23) Brooklyn 122 171

9 P.S. 123 Mahalia Jackson Elementary/Middle Central Harlem/Manhattanville (5) Manhattan 119 166

10 P.S. 070 Max Schoenfeld Elementary Highbridge/Concourse (9) Bronx 113 344

The schools that homeless students living in shelter attended continued to be clustered in northern Manhattan, the south and west Bronx and central Brooklyn. This pattern mirrors the locations of City shelters, suggesting that homeless students in shelter are often unable to remain in their school of origin.

P.S. 053, Basheer Quisim Elementary School, in Highbridge/Concourse (District 9) had over 300 homeless students living in shelter enrolled. This was the largest number of any school in New York City in SY 201415.

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Number of Students in Shelter by SchoolSY 201415 018

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Note: Data include schools in both geographic and non-geographic districts. Data groupings for the map of doubled-up students by school and the map of sheltered students by school are matched for the purpose of comparison. For comparison and readability, number breaks are manually classified to match the 2015 Atlas of Student Homelessness.Source: New York City Department of Education, unpublished data tabulated by the Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness, SY 201415.


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Patterns of School Transfers Among Homeless Students

For homeless students, mid-year transfers are common. Over one out of every five homeless students transfers school mid-year.

Homeless students also represent a significant proportion of all mid-year transfers in New York City. One out of every five students who trans-ferred school mid-year in SY 201415 was home-less, over two times the overall citywide rate of homelessness (8%).

The top five school districts for the number of homeless students transferring mid-year were all in the Bronx (Hunts Point, Highbridge, Bedford, Williamsbridge, and East Tremont; Districts 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12).

Top School District for Mid-Year Homeless Student TransfersDistrict 10SY 201415

211

1224

2553

54133

Note: Data are by school district and do not include schools in non-geographic districts. Transfers by school are shown for the top five school districts with the highest numbers of homeless students transferring into or within the district mid-year in SY 201415. Map shows different movement patterns than were depicted in the 2015 Atlas of Student Homelessness.


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Top Five Districts for Homeless Student Transfers Number of Homeless Students Transferring Mid-Year by SchoolSY 201415

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The G


elessness


Percent Homeless Homeless City/Borough/ All Students Students Out of All Select Neighborhoods Student Who Who Students Who(School District #) Homelessness Transferred Transferred Transferred

New York City 7.7% 98,853 17,590 17.8%

Manhattan 9.0% 15,544 2,820 18.1%

Lower East Side (1) 11.0% 1,454 331 22.8%

Financial District/Midtown/Upper East Side (2) 5.4% 4,188 486 11.6%

Upper West Side/Morningside Heights (3) 7.4% 1,942 323 16.6%

East Harlem (4) 13.6% 1,459 406 27.8%

Central Harlem/Manhattanville (5) 16.0% 1,899 613 32.3%

Hamilton/Washington Heights/Inwood (6) 12.9% 2,216 452 20.4%

Bronx 13.4% 26,177 6,653 25.4%

Mott Haven/Melrose (7) 14.1% 2,586 635 24.6%

Hunts Point/Longwood (8) 12.2% 3,976 946 23.8%

Highbridge/Concourse (9) 18.0% 4,491 1,467 32.7%

Riverdale/Bedford/Fordham/Belmont (10) 14.5% 5,905 1,587 26.9%

Williamsbridge/Morris Park/Co-op City (11) 8.3% 4,207 801 19.0%

East Tremont (12) 14.5% 3,309 940 28.4%

Percent Homeless Homeless City/Borough/ All Students Students Out of All Select Neighborhoods Student Who Who Students Who(School District #) Homelessness Transferred Transferred Transferred

Brooklyn 7.1% 26,842 4,507 16.8%

Brooklyn Heights/Fort Greene (13) 6.3% 2,004 303 15.1%

Williamsburg/Greenpoint (14) 7.0% 1,579 307 19.4%

Carroll Gardens/Park Slope/Sunset Park (15) 4.2% 1,975 181 9.2%

Bedford-Stuyvesant (16) 15.2% 1,331 313 23.5%

Crown Heights/Prospect Lefferts Gardens (17) 11.2% 2,934 682 23.2%

East Flatbush/Canarsie (18) 7.3% 2,126 292 13.7%

East New York/Starrett City (19) 10.8% 3,279 677 20.6%

Bay Ridge/Dyker Heights/Borough Park (20) 4.5% 2,787 217 7.8%

Coney Island/Gravesend/Ocean Parkway (21) 4.3% 2,469 250 10.1%

Flatbush/Flatlands/Sheepshead Bay (22) 5.5% 2,235 335 15.0%

Brownsville (23) 15.2% 1,788 518 29.0%

Bushwick (32) 11.0% 1,251 295 23.6%

Queens 4.4% 25,560 2,819 11.0%

Sunnyside/Ridgewood/Elmhurst/Corona (24) 4.5% 3,441 392 11.4%

Flushing/Whitestone (25) 3.1% 2,564 163 6.4%

Bayside/Little Neck/Fresh Meadows/Floral Park (26) 1.9% 1,371 71 5.2%

Woodhaven/Ozone Park/Howard Beach (27) 4.3% 3,882 498 12.8%

Rego Park/Forest Hills/Briarwood (28) 4.3% 2,655 316 11.9%

Hollis/Queens Village (29) 6.7% 2,813 436 15.5%

Astoria/Long Island City (30) 5.2% 2,733 391 14.3%

Staten Island 3.2% 4,540 601 13.2%

Staten Island (31) 3.2% 4,216 573 13.6%

Citywide Special Education (75) 7.1% 4,822 613 12.7%

Citywide Alternative Schools & Programs (79) 7.9% 6,776 590 8.7%

Note: Data by school district do not include schools in non-geographic districts so borough and district total percentages may differ. Ns of fewer than 30 students were redacted. Students who transferred into or within the district at some point during the school year are shown in the table.


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Students Who Transferred Mid-Year, School Year 201415

Bronx District 10 (Fordham) had the largest number of homeless students transferring mid-year with more than 1,500 students.

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Number of Homeless Students Transferring Mid-Year in Bronx District 10, SY 201415


Late Enrollment Impacts Funding

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Estimated Net Loss or Gain in Fair Student Funding and Share of Late Enrollees Who Are Homeless, Pre-K to 8th GradeSY 201415

Net Gain $124,493$277,999

$278,000$286,300

Net Loss $17,000$277,999

$278,000$597,999

$598,000$749,999 $750,000$1,583,697Late Enrollees: Percent Homeless

n 8.6%12.5%

n 12.6%21.9%

n 22.0%33.3%

n 33.4%46.1%

Note: Fair Student Funding and percent of late enrollees who are homeless represent students in Pre-K through 8th grade only. Late enrollees are defined as those who started school after October 31st of the school year. Estimated change in funding was calculated based on the net late enroll-ment after October 31st. Net loss numbers are classified using the quartile classification method and rounded to nearest number for readability. Net gain class break was matched to the two lower classes of net loss. Percent homeless was classified using quartile classification.

Source: New York City Department of Education Division of School Budget Planning & Operations, FY15 Fair Student Funding Program Details; New York City Department of Education, unpublished data tabulated by the Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness, SY 201415.

More than 33,000 students, or roughly 3% of the total student population, enrolled in school lateafter the October 31 official enrollment count. One-fifth of all of these students (22%) were homeless. This was a pattern consistent with prior years.

The proportion of students who enroll late and are also homeless varies dramatically by district from a low of 9% in Carroll Gardens (District 15) to a high of 46% in Central Harlem (District 5).

Many school districts face the dual challenge of high homelessness and late enrollment, which creates additional strain on limited school funding. Ten districts with higher than average student homelessness lost out on an estimated $287,000 to $1,000,000 in Fair Student Funding by the end of the year. These districts included East Harlem, Central Harlem, and Washington Heights in Manhattan (Districts 4, 5, and 6), Mott Haven, Hunts Point, Highbridge, Fordham, and Williamsbridge in the Bronx (Districts 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11), and Crown Heights and East New York in Brooklyn (Districts 17 and 19).

The current Fair Student Funding formula for New York City does not factor in student homelessness as a variable to help level the playing field.

The G


elessness


Lower East Side (1) 12.1% $39,998,080 8,975 8,979 193 32.1% 4 $4,457 $4,455 -$17,826

Financial District/Midtown/Upper East Side (2) 4.7% $122,519,197 26,439 26,518 683 13.8% 79 $4,634 $4,620 -$366,089

Upper West Side/Morningside Heights (3) 9.1% $68,164,088 13,755 13,784 342 21.9% 29 $4,956 $4,945 -$143,712

East Harlem (4) 15.5% $54,146,707 10,554 10,610 249 36.5% 56 $5,130 $5,103 -$287,305

Central Harlem/Manhattanville (5) 19.2% $44,728,741 9,067 9,132 332 46.1% 65 $4,933 $4,898 -$320,654

Hamilton/Washington Heights/Inwood (6) 13.1% $93,648,538 19,050 19,249 656 24.2% 199 $4,916 $4,865 -$978,271

Mott Haven/Melrose (7) 16.9% $63,485,437 13,273 13,364 389 40.9% 91 $4,783 $4,750 -$435,258

Hunts Point/Longwood (8) 13.1% $107,716,933 21,998 22,086 690 33.9% 88 $4,897 $4,877 -$430,907

Highbridge/Concourse (9) 19.6% $144,200,669 28,622 28,745 947 41.8% 123 $5,038 $5,017 -$619,687

Riverdale/Bedford/Fordham/Belmont (10) 17.2% $195,955,758 40,771 40,913 1,224 40.6% 142 $4,806 $4,790 -$682,488

Williamsbridge/Morris Park/Co-op City (11) 8.7% $155,351,708 31,679 31,801 962 21.5% 122 $4,904 $4,885 -$598,280

East Tremont (12) 15.6% $90,631,401 18,366 18,308 547 36.7% -58 $4,935 $4,950 $286,215

Brooklyn Heights/Fort Greene (13) 9.3% $50,372,565 10,319 10,359 289 18.3% 40 $4,882 $4,863 -$195,261

Williamsburg/Greenpoint (14) 7.2% $60,784,965 13,183 13,156 250 28.8% -27 $4,611 $4,620 $124,493

Carroll Gardens/Park Slope/Sunset Park (15) 4.1% $117,380,117 25,865 25,921 543 8.7% 56 $4,538 $4,528 -$254,138

Bedford-Stuyvesant (16) 17.0% $35,427,862 5,965 5,921 171 33.3% -44 $5,939 $5,983 $261,329

Crown Heights/Prospect Lefferts Gardens (17) 13.1% $76,997,372 16,942 17,084 667 29.1% 142 $4,545 $4,507 -$645,356

East Flatbush/Canarsie (18) 7.3% $61,174,735 12,744 12,802 363 18.7% 58 $4,800 $4,779 -

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