Poverty In America

Case Study Project: EDFA51600 School and Community Relations

Summer 2011; Group 9Jessica Hazard

Heather Miles

Chris Seibert

Cory McKim

Poverty In America

Goetsch Family- Leadville, Colorado Parents: Richard and Linda Children In The House:

Mylinda-16, Michael-16, Riquelle-14, William-22 Pays rent

Children Moved Out: Tiffany-25, Jacqueline-27

Poverty in America

Goetch Family Picture

Poverty In America

Richard’s Family Grew up in Leadville

Dad worked for the Rio Grand Railroad

Teacher at local elementary school in Leadville

Linda’s Family Grew up in Leadville

Dad worked at Climax Mine

Mom stayed home, and volunteered at the local schools

Poverty In America

Education History and Expectations Linda’s dad finished 8th grade and then joined the

army. Linda’s mom graduated from high school and

college with a nursing degree. Linda was expected to behave in school and get

good grades.

Poverty In America

Educational Views Linda expects that her children will learn. Does not like the state mandated tests. Wants teachers to focus on the basics. Example: reading,

writing, math, home economics, shop, and about jobs kids may want to do when they get older.

Not satisfied with Leadvillle schools Kids go to school in Buena Vista: 30 minutes away.

Poverty In America

A Typical Day for the Goetsch Family Linda gets up at 5:00 a.m. to make sure that Richard and

Buddy get to work. The kids get up for school at 5:30 and must be ready to

leave by 6:15. After dropping the kids off at school Linda works at a

store that makes bird toys. The job also gives her the time to help at the school when needed.

After school the kids have cross county practice, and volleyball practice.

Poverty In America

A Typical Day for the Goetsch Family Continued Linda and the kids get home at about 5:30 p.m. each

night. They eat dinner each night around 6:00 p.m. After doing their homework the kids are in bed at 8:30

p.m. each night. Linda cleans up and finally gets to bed around 11:00

p.m. each night. Linda says that the family does a great job of working

together to make sure the house is clean and orderly.

Poverty In America

Shopping Linda likes to shop in Buena Vista because in

Leadsville there is only one grocery store and their prices are high.

When shopping for items in bulk the family will go to Denver and shop at Sam’s Club and Walmart

Poverty In America

Transportation Linda drives a 2006 Chevy Uplander When the car needs repairs they take it to the

dealership in Salida Basic car maintenance is done in Leadsville at

the Pumphouse unless they can get the work done cheaper somewhere else.

Poverty In America

Values and Help Linda explained that they have strong beliefs to

not lie, and always be themselves, and help other when possible.

Linda would often talk with her mom when she needed help but since she died Linda tries to find someone that has had that problem or seek out a professional for help.

Poverty In America

Family Fun With the little free time that they have they like

to:Play board games, Wii, Puzzles, Movie nights, and

Swim.Go to the Denver Zoo.Vacation to Kansas and Texas each year to see family.

Poverty In America

Literature ReviewIn today’s touch and go economy many American families have found

themselves financially vulnerable. The threat of poverty is sometimes a paycheck away. Foreclosures, job layoffs and debt are linked with the anxiety of low socioeconomic status, feelings of low self worth, fears of homelessness and hunger and financial desperation. The effects of poverty influence the United States as a nation and our educational system and its children are not exempt. In this paper, the effects of poverty on America’s school systems and school children are examined. Within education, it is thought that poverty occurs in both the individual students/families and within the schools. The following three literature reviews attempt to demonstrate and support this theory, as well as determine the more detrimental of the two.

Poverty In America

Literature Review continued:In the research article titled “Effects of Poverty, Hunger, and Homelessness

on Children and Youth,” by the American Psychological Association in 2011, current rates for childhood poverty were reported. According to the article, childhood poverty rates have increased by 18% since 2009. Although racial and ethnic disparities in poverty rates persist, non-Hispanic Whites are the largest group living in poverty. Psychological research has shown negative physical, mental and emotional effects of poverty on our nation’s children. Poverty impacts children at home, at school and in their community. “Poverty is linked with negative conditions such as substandard housing, homelessness, inadequate nutrition and food insecurity, inadequate child care, lack of access to health care, unsafe neighborhoods, and under resourced schools which

adversely impact our nation’s children” (APA 2011).

Poverty In America

Literature Review continued: In lower income young children labeled as “hungry,” studies found that the

children were more likely to receive special education services, to have repeated a grade and to have received mental health counseling than their “non- hungry” classmates. The article mentions that poorer children and teens are at a greater risk for dropping out of school, poor academic achievement, behavior problems, abuse and neglect, health problems and developmental delays. Chronic stress of living in poverty adversely effects children’s concentration and memory as well as their ability to learn. School drop out rates are higher for teens living in lower socioeconomic areas. Under resourced schools in poorer communities struggle to achieve academic growth and leave students unable of fulfilling their potential. The article concludes that inadequate education contributes to the cycle of poverty.

Poverty In America

Literature Review continued:The aforementioned and obvious impact of poverty among our nation’s

children is compounded when that poverty affects entire school buildings and learning institutions. In a research article by the Research Watch Evaluation and Research Department of Wake County Public School Systems, entitled The Impact of Poverty Upon Schools, the two types of educational poverty (individual and school) were discussed. The article defines individual poverty as whether or not the student participates in the free/reduced lunch program. It defines school wide poverty as the percentage of students within the school that participate in the free/reduced lunch program. The article referred to a large body of research that stated individual students eligible for free/reduced lunch programs are also at high risk for academic failure. This failure can be countered and eliminated with extra support and academic assistance.

Poverty In America

Literature Review continued:However, the article states that high concentrations of low-income

individuals have a negative impact on a school and may prevent that extra support and assistance from being available to at risk students. The article continues stating low-income students in low poverty schools score better than low-income students in high poverty schools. Also, that student achievement showed a sharp decline when school poverty rates rose above 40%. Skilled teachers can help these statistics but the article stated that schools with poverty rates over 40% reported difficulty hiring teachers, difficulty with teacher absenteeism and

difficulty retaining teachers for more than 3 years.

Poverty In America

Literature Review continued:The article also mentioned increased classroom discipline problems when

the poverty level was over 40% as well as the likelihood of schools not reaching their goal of “exemplary” growth with an increased average proportion of students benefiting from free/reduced lunch programs. Concluding the article was the mention of a classroom’s homogeneity (caused by high school poverty levels) leading to a slower rate of growth

than seen in heterogeneous classes. With some agreement and some disagreement with the aforementioned

articles, the article “Poverty is the Problem That Must Be Solved…Our Schools are Not Broken” by Stephen Krashen explores solutions to the poverty and education crisis in America. Despite previous reports that American schools are failing because of bad teachers, bad organization and bad test scores, Krashen shows that well funded schools outscore nearly all other countries and are not failing.

Poverty In America

Literature Review continued: However, America’s overall scores are lackluster because America has a

20% rate of poverty for its students. The article states that is the highest rate among all industrialized nations. It goes on to say that high scoring Finland has a child poverty rate of under 4% and that reducing American poverty will improve American education not vice versa. However, the US Department of Education insists that improving teaching comes first and doing so will result in more learning, higher test scores and therefore an improved economy. Krashen argues that best teaching practices will have little effect if the students are hungry, in poor health and have little access to books. Studies also failed to

correlate improved test scores with overall economic progress.

Poverty In America

Literature Review continued:

In 1967 Martin Luther King Jr. said, “We are likely to find that the problems of housing and education, instead of preceding the elimination of poverty, will themselves be affected if poverty is first abolished.” Krashen says if we cannot eliminate poverty we should at least protect our children from its effects by making sure they are fed, making sure they have access to healthcare and by making sure they have access to books. He recommends funding these programs by reducing testing and using that budget to cover the American poverty crisis.

Poverty In America

Literature Review continued:In reviewing all three articles, poverty is a clearly identified challenge to

American school systems and American children. Children suffering from poverty can deal with a multitude of behavioral, educational and developmental issues leading to poorer academic performance and lower overall achievement. Schools with higher rates of poverty can suffer from lower test scores, higher discipline problems, lower teacher performance and professionalism and slower rates of academic growth. The question for the future of American education is: Can poverty be reduced in order to improve education or can education be improved enough to reduce poverty? Poverty within an American individual effects poverty within an American school system, which then affects poverty issues within American society. As with most issues in education, the three are interconnected and must be addressed with invested interest to all.

Poverty In America

Literature Review: ReferencesAmerican Psychological Association. (2011). Effects of poverty, hunger, and

homelessness on children and youth. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/pi/families/poverty.aspx

 Krashen, S. (2011). Povety is the problem…our schools are not broken.

Substance News, Retrived from http://www.substancenews.net/articles.php?pages2319

 Wake County Public School System Research Watch Evaluation and Research

Department. (1999). The impact of poverty upon schools. Retrieved From http://www.wcpss.net/evaluation-research/reports/1999/9920_poverty.pdf

Poverty In America

NarrativeThe Goetsch family from Leadville, Colorado is a Caucasian family

that has made financial sacrifices for their children’s education. Richard works at the Marriott Hotel in Vail, Colorado and Linda makes bird toys in Buena Vista, Colorado. Richard and Linda have six children that range in age from 14 to 27. Tiffany and Jacqueline have moved out while their brother William still lives at home and works for a local mining company. Michael, and Mylinda are high school students while Riquelle is a middle

school student.

Poverty In America

NarrativeLinda and Richard were not happy with the Leadville, Colorado

schools when the children were younger so they now send their kids to Buena Vista, Colorado schools, which is thirty minutes from Leadville. Since they have a thirty-minute drive each way, Linda gets up every morning around 5:00 a.m. to make sure that her family gets to their jobs, and school on time. The family often times does not get home until 5:30 and usually eats dinner around 6:00 p.m. each night. Since the family sends their kids to a school in a different community they have to make financial sacrifices. Richard and Linda have to pay the school that the kids go to and they have to spend a great deal of money on

transportation.

Poverty In America

NarrativeWhen in a position of leadership in a school such as an administrator

being aware of your family’s struggles is important to the success of the students. In this case study there are many challenges that the students face that could affect there learning. As an administrator and school leader we can not make assumptions about a family because of the way they dress, what car they drive, and the amount of contact they have with the school. While Linda tries to help at the school as much as possible Richard does not have the time to be at the school because he has to be at work to provide for the family.

Poverty In America

NarrativeWhenever dealing with families’ administrators need to be open and willing

to listen to the family about how the school can help. Instead of schools keeping a closed mind they need to keep an open mind when dealing with families because every family in the school has a different challenge that they face daily. For example, the Goetsch family my have trouble getting the kids to school on time because of the long drive, especially in the winter time when there is a great deal of snow in Colorado. The kids may also be more tired at certain times of the school year because they have to get up earlier for school because they do have to travel thirty minutes each way every day. If administrators can understand their students and the families that make up their school and be willing to work with those students and families then they can have a successful school.