W120622 by C.M.I.

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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2022 | theworldlink.com |

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Dozens of Oregon school districts likely undercounting homeless students Homeless students can get assistance from schools, but unless they’re identified, they get none By KAYLEE TORNAY InvestigateWest

Madysun Wilson had already given up on graduating when the dean at her high school showed up during her shift at Papa Murphy’s in Coos Bay. She was technically homeless, crashing at a friend’s house after leaving her family home at 15. Casey McCord, the dean, had been calling her relatives for weeks letting them know Wilson was on the verge of dropping out of Marshfield High School. The next day, Wilson agreed to come to her school, where McCord marched her to the back of the building to introduce her to Melinda Torres. Torres is the employee tasked with connecting with and supporting homeless students in the Coos Bay School District. Torres urged Wilson not to drop out — offering that if she really

didn’t want to finish her studies at Marshfield, the school could help pay for her General Equivalency Diploma. They could also help her get clothes and food. It worked: Wilson passed her high-school-equivalency tests in December 2021 and now, at 17, is working toward an associate degree at Southwestern Oregon Community College. She dreams of working with homeless youth in the future. “For the majority of my life, I didn’t think I was going to graduate high school,” Wilson said. But with help, she decided, “I wanted to (do) better. I want to get out of Coos Bay.” In a way, Wilson was lucky to attend Marshfield, where staff at her school kept track of her living situation and pushed her to complete her GED. Many schools across Oregon are far less successful in identifying homeless students and connecting them with food, shelter and academic support, an InvestigateWest analysis found. Federal law requires every district across the country to provide students experiencing homelessness full access to school and extracurriculars. But first, those students need to be identified — and at least 16 Oregon school districts with more than 20 students enrolled

failed to identify a single homeless student during the 2019-20 school year, federal education data shows. No homeless students might sound like good news, but experts say it reflects schools’ inability to identify homeless youth rather than actual levels of poverty and homelessness in their communities. “If you’re a tiny, rural district with 11 students, yeah, sure,” said Barbara Duffield, executive director of SchoolHouse Connection, a national nonprofit focused on improving outcomes for homeless youth. “But otherwise, you’re not going to have a district that has no student experiencing homelessness, especially year after year.” Additionally, data analysis by InvestigateWest and the Center for Public Integrity suggests at least 21% of Oregon districts are under-identifying the number of homeless students attending their schools. The problem of undercounting is not unique to the Beaver State. Public Integrity’s analysis estimates that, nationwide, as many as 300,000 homeless students might be going uncounted each year. Black, Latino and Native Alaskan and American Indian youth were overrepresented in the homeless student population.

Coos Bay community members who are up to 21 years old and their families can visit the ARK Project at Marshfield High School, which Melinda Torres runs for the school district. (Michael Sullivan/InvestigateWest)

“For the majority of my life, I didn’t think I was going to graduate high school,” Madysun Wilson said. But with help, she decided, “I wanted to (do) better.” (Michael Sullivan/ InvestigateWest)

Failing to identify homeless students isn’t simply a matter of bureaucratic bookkeeping. It can mean the difference between a student accessing free school meals or going hungry; getting to participate in athletics or missing out; or receiving help with transportation to school or being dropped, particularly in Oregon, where the

law requires schools to unenroll students after 10 consecutive days of unexcused absences. In Wilson’s case, she believes her story would be quite different without the intervention by her school. “Honestly, I could see myself still working at that Papa Murphy’s, doing nothing,” she said. “Thank Please see TEENS Page A4

Bus Jam donors race to meet a growing need By DAVID RUPKALVIS For The World

A down economy has made it a tough Christmas season for many in Coos County, which makes the work done by volunteers for Bus Jam even more important this year. On Saturday, that work began to pay off as people showed up in droves to stuff school buses in front of Bi-Mart in Coos Bay and North Bend. In North Bend, the Bus Jam volunteers, many from the Coos Bay-North Bend Rotary Club and K-Dock, the two sponsors of the event, hoped for 2,500 gifts to be delivered in the five hours Bus Jam was collecting toys. But that goal was shattered early in the day. Before 1 p.m., more than 4,000 gifts had been brought to the

Photo by David Rupkalvis/For The World

Amee Springsteen, director of Miss Coos County, sorts through gifts donated during Bus Jam at the North Bend Bi-Mart. Springsteen said after a slow start, donors came through in a big way, with more than 4,000 gifts donated in North Bend with several hours still to go. The gifts donated in both North Bend and Coos Bay will be sorted through and set up so parents can “shop” for Christmas gifts for their children next weekend.

Please see BUS JAM Page A9

A close call during bad weather in North Bend Bad weather and poor visibility played a role in a rollover accident Wednesday on Newmark Avenue in North Bend. The North Bend Fire Department reported the two occupants of the truck were able to exit the vehicle safely and without serious injury before firefighters arrived. The fire department did close Newmark while working at the scene. In a Facebook post, the fire department urged drivers to slow down and be extra cautious during inclement weather. Photo contributed by North Bend Fire Department

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