Having been a homeless student himself, LAUSD superintendent Alberto Carvalho is intimately familiar with the challenges faced by unhoused students. And on Friday, April 28, he unveiled an initiative to support their needs: private study and relaxation spaces being offered to students at 30 family shelters across the city.
“They ought to feel that, even though they are experiencing a very difficult condition, their existence is dignified,” said Carvalho, visiting a study space at San Fernando Valley Rescue Mission. “In this corner right here children can feel that they are children,” he said. “They see color, they hear beautiful calming sounds, there are resources, there are books, there are coloring books, there are crayons — everything any family wants to provide for their kids.”
Friday marked the district’s fourth iAttend Day, during which district officials visit the apartments, homes and shelters of chronically absent students to encourage them to return to school.
Chronic absenteeism is a districtwide problem at LAUSD, but is pronounced among students without a stable home. Carvalho said the district has made progress — the chronic absenteeism rates of students experiencing homelessness dropped from 66% in the 2021-22 school year to 55% this school year.
“We’re seeing that initiative (iAttend) paying off, but a lot more needs to be done” he said. “The most fragile of those students who experience chronic absenteeism are our students experiencing homelessness for very, very obvious reasons. … The foundation of protection has eroded, when you don’t have a home.”
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