SHELTERS NOW SCHOOLS
Ana Vazquez doesn’t have access to a tutor or even a parent equipped to help her much with schoolwork.
Most days, she counts it a success if she can just ignore the distractions around her long enough to retain the lessons that her teachers are giving on the other side of her laptop screen.
The 12-year- old lives in a homeless shelter with her mother and attends her virtual sixth- grade classes from a cubicle previously used as office space.
On many days, Ana shares the same room with anywhere between six to 12 other students — all in different online classes and most without headphones to block the others out — and a half dozen employees in the shelter’s administration.
The abrupt transition to digital learning brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic earlier this year was challenging enough for parents and students across the nation to navigate. But it has posed an even greater hurdle for homeless students like Ana who not only depend on schools for education but for food, shelter and adequate technology as well.
“For many of the children in our families that are struggling, the school is a safe haven,” said Andrea Urton, CEO of the shelter operator, Homefirst.
“They need a place where they can be children, they can focus on what they need to do, which is learning and experiencing life.
“Whether someone’s going outside for a break or doing their laundry in the background or another student’s on their device trying to do work next to her, shelters are a very distracting environment,” Urton said, noting that the shelter is “not optimal for learning for any child.”