LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – A majority of Lubbock ISD students are facing financial hardships. According to the Texas Education Agency, 17,318 students are considered \u201ceconomically disadvantaged.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martha Dodge leads the district\u2019s student behavior support team. They create programs and support services meant to help students fill the bare necessities.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen kids have those basic things go unfilled outside of school, it definitely can have a ripple effect inside the school building,\u201d Dodge said.<\/p>\n
The director explains LISD uses a three-tiered system to monitor students across its campuses. It\u2019s the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports. The system is used to help identify students who are struggling either academically, financially or behaviorally. Once a student is located the district then allocates resources to help them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do have a process of identifying kids who need help behaviorally, and so, if there are kiddos who are demonstrating maybe some acting out behavior, we can identify them early and help put interventions in place to support them,\u201d Dodge said.<\/p>\n
She explains the district has several social workers who work alongside students and their families to get them connected to the things they need.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can think of examples from just last week where they were working with families who have kids in elementary, middle, and high school, helping connect them with uniforms,\u201d Dodge said.<\/p>\n
However, it can be harder when it comes to providing housing and when considering children in the school system who are considered homeless.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we hear homeless, we all picture someone who is living unsheltered on the street,\u201d Dodge said. \u201cThat is not the definition we follow in Lubbock ISD, and it\u2019s not the definition that any school district follows.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schools follow a federal law known as the 1987 McKinney-Vento Act. It outlines measures that ensure kids experiencing homelessness have immediate access to education and the resources that come with it.<\/p>\n
Valerie Longoria, the Executive Director of Echo West Texas, explained what some of these instances can look like.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s quite a bit of people who are \u2018youth\u2019 who are homeless, experiencing homelessness or couch surfing,\u201d Longoria said.<\/p>\n
She helps manage Lubbock\u2019s locally-led Continuum of Care (COC). In that role, Longoria sees the gaps in services available to kids and teenagers.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes it\u2019s hard because if you have somebody who\u2019s 16 and they don\u2019t have housing, let\u2019s say they want to go and check into a shelter, well they\u2019re not old enough. So, what happens to them? There\u2019s that gap,\u201d Longoria said.<\/p>\n
Longoria explains the COC works together with schools to balance the need, but the biggest difference is made in the classroom.<\/p>\n
Dodge backs this claim up, calling teachers the \u2018anchor\u2019 for any point of contact between the district and its students.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re the bedrock of everything that we do, and so when we talk about putting systems in place or interventions in place, we have to keep our teachers at the forefront of our mind because they\u2019re the number one support for our students,\u201d Dodge said. \u201cThey\u2019re the people who have the greatest direct impact on kids every single day.\u201d<\/p>\n
When it comes to addressing homelessness and economic disadvantages, it\u2019s never a one-size-fits-all solution. Dodge said the district will continue doing its best to help its students in need.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are always going through a process of refining and looking out what\u2019s working for our kids and our campuses, what\u2019s not, and make adjustments,\u201d Dodge said. \u201cAnd, so I expect that Lubbock ISD will continue to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
She says the best way the community can help is through donating to area nonprofits so families in need will have access to those services.<\/p>\n
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