Education

Foreclosure’s Children

By Anthony Rebora — February 27, 2009 1 min read
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The growing number of home foreclosures around the country is having an impact on classrooms, with more teachers working with unstable student enrollments, according to a CNN.com report.

At Fairview Elementary School in Modesto, Calif., an area badly hit by the economic downturn, 50 students have left and 50 new ones have started in the last couple months, according to Principal Heather Sharp. California 4th grade teacher Suzell Tougas, meanwhile, says she’s down 10 kids from the start of this year and expects to lose more. “It’s like a ghost town,” she says of her classroom.

Educators stress that moving during the school year, especially when tied to family problems, can be difficult for students both academically and emotionally, and typically requires an adjustment period.

“The biggest issue is that when [children have to move] when there are stressors going on, we know it puts these kids at a greater risk of being behind in their academics,” Pat Popp, a past president of the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth, told CNN.

Students who move multiple times are more likely to have academic problems than other students, according to a May 2008 report by the nonprofit group First Focus. That report estimated that nearly two million children would be affected by foreclosures over the next two years, according to CNN.

A version of this news article first appeared in the Web Watch blog.