Children in Poverty

By: Savannah Maez, Lindsey Mann,

and Matt McGrath

Poverty in America

• 15 million American children are in families that make less than $20,000 per year.

• The number increased by more than 11% between 2000 and 2005.

• 1.3 million more are living in poverty now than in 2000. (Columbia, 2012)

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sb-PQESPeG8

Falcon Ridge Elementary

School Provisions for Children in Poverty

• Free Coats

• Free Breakfast and Lunch

• Activity is not required by students, it is a choice

• Classes have extra resources

Personal Opinion• Wishes there was

more done to help poverty stricken children.

• Feels most of her students in poverty do not have support at home, giving them poor grades.

• (Mattssons, 2012)

Willow Canyon Elementary

School Provisions for Children in Poverty

• Teachers must look for signs indicating a child in poverty

• Free/Reduced Breakfast and Lunch

• Clothing in provided

• Guidance counselor is used for support

Personal Opinion• This school has a very

Low poverty level.

• The teacher interviewed feels the school is on top of needs and addresses them as they come up.

• (Morrison, 2012)

Canyon Elementary

School Provisions for Children in Poverty• Send donated food

home over the weekend

• Give out school supplies

• Provide free and reduced meals (breakfast and lunch)

• After school tutoring is also provided and extended stay times for extra academic help.

How Does Poverty Affect Learning?• Living with extended family

and frequent moves can cause the student to struggle.

• Worrying about where they will sleep or their next meal, makes it hard for them con concentrate on school.

• Sometimes they skip class in order to help with family needs.

• (Dawes, 2012)

Address Poverty in your Future Classroom

• Use government programs

• Be attentive to student behavior

• Provide one on one attention

• Make sure the child has access to free/reduced lunch programs

• Be sure that the student is included

Address Poverty in your Future Classroom

• Boost the self-esteem of students who live in poverty.

• Listen to your disadvantaged students.

• Keep requirements for school supplies as simple as possible.

• Spend time trying to connect what they learn in school to real-life situations.

• Arrange a bank of shared supplies.

• Do not require costly activities.

• End taunting quickly.

• Make it clear that you value all of your students.

Address Poverty in your Future Classroom

• Watch for bullying.

• Raise their self-esteem.

• Be there and Listen to the student.

• Collect clothing/coats.

• Talk to the family.

• Offer extra help to the student.

• Find a tutor.

• Have extra supplies in the classroom.

Rural Poverty VS Urban Poverty

• Persistent poverty counties are overwhelmingly rural.

• Less Resources

• Less Danger

• School dropouts usually go straight to work.

• (Courrege, 2011)

• Urban poverty is linked to rural poverty.

• Access to more resources

• More Danger

• School dropouts are more likely to end up in prison

(The World Bank, 2011)

Poverty and Success in School

• Poverty directly affects the students’ academic achievement due to the lack of resources available for their success, but are not a causation.

References

Columbia, U. (2012). National center for children in poverty. Retrieved from http://www.nccp.org/publications/pub_684.html

Mattssons, S. (2012, September 15). Interview by S. Maez [Personal Interview]. Children in poverty.

Morrison, P. (2012, September 20). Interview by L. Mann [Personal Interview]. Children in poverty.

Dawes, A. (2012, September 22). Interview by M McGrath [Personal Interview]. Children in poverty.

References

• World Bank. (2011). Urban poverty: An overview. Retrieved from http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTURBANDEVELOPMENT/EXTURBANPOVERTY/0,,contentMDK:20227679~menuPK:473804~pagePK:148956~piPK:216618~theSitePK:341325,00.html

• DeWitt, P. (2011, November 30). Poverty matters. Retrieved from http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/finding_common_ground/2011/11/poverty_matters.html?qs=urban+poverty

• Courrege, D. (2011, September 16). Rural student success critical to national goals. Retrieved from. http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/rural_education/2011/09/rural_student_success_critical_to_national_goals.html?qs=impact+of+poverty+on+rural+children+and+urban+children.

Picture References

• http://www.globalenvision.org/tags/american-dream

• http://youngadults.about.com/od/quarterlife/tp/aftercollege.htm

• http://americanvision.org/4325/life-on-the-reservation/

• http://takingnote.tcf.org/2011/09/graph-of-the-day-poverty-on-the-rise-in-america.html