Poverty in the Classroom.

Background information 22% of children live below the poverty line Students living under poverty may have

difficulties socially and emotionally These students may also experience a

great amount of stress Race and poverty are not cause-effect but

there are correlations, but it is important to remember, it is NOT cause-effect

Common Beliefs “If you work hard enough, you should be

able to find a job and make money.” “Poverty only happens because people

are too lazy to work” “Children who live in poverty will be

poor when they are adults.”

It is our goal as a school to eliminate these stereotypes and accept the real facts.

Facts on Poverty Over half of all Americans will live in

poverty in their lifetime. Only 35% of children who grew up in

poverty will be middle class as adults 2/3 of all families living in poverty have more than one person in the work force.

It is important to treat all students equally; without any bias’ towards any

differences a student may have. Previous opinions or attitudes towards certain social issues can prevent equal

treatment and also put a block on students’ learning.

Lowering costsIt is important to consider families’ financial abilities when asking for them to buy or pay for additional things in or outside of the classroom. Keeping school supply lists short and

simple Providing financial assistance for extra

costs such as field trips, extra curricular activities, etc.

Local Resources: become familiarized

The Free/reduced lunch program (through the school)

The Salvation Army United Way Boys & Girls Club of

America Big Brothers Big

Sisters The YMCA

The YWCA Habitat for

Humanity NHSA SNAP HSD Food Pantries HealthCare.Gov/

Medicare

Get to know your students & their parents Get to know your students; this can tell you so

much about who they are and where they come from

Get to know your parents; parents are able to team up with you and then from there you both are able to help the student from home and school.

Being able to relate to your students and parents can really clue you into why certain things are happening (such as certain behaviors or emotions) and from there you are able to adjust to possibly make a situation better.

Academic Success There are many studies that show students

who live in poverty have a harder time succeeding in school

With these studies, it is easy to generalize but it is very important to hold all students to the same expectations and standards

Students can really benefit from an adult who believes in them and tells them that they can and will be successful, that can be you!

Bullying Children living under poverty can be a

target of bullying and it is very important to intervene if it is noticed

It is also important to try and prevent bullying all together with classroom standards

When creating classroom rules on bullying, do not single-out one group of students; this can be embarrassing and also cause a backlash

Overview Treat all students with respect, hold

them all to the same standards Be ready to help students by providing

information on local resources Prevent bullying and be ready to

intervene if you see it happening in our school