Giving Compass' Take:

• Lesley College is offering a Certificate in Child Homelessness Studies program for teachers that want more development training to address the growth of the homeless student population. 

• How will newer learning styles also help teachers to identify and assist students who are working through trauma?

• Read more about how schools are coping with the growing homeless student population in NYC. 

Even among the infants and toddlers in her classroom, Meital Sandbank sees the effects of homelessness and living in a constant state of transition — difficulty self-soothing, an inability to follow directions and sometimes aggression.

“Children who are constantly anxious or worried need much more support and one-on-one care to learn to cope and manage their emotions.”

Sandbank, however, is also participating with her colleagues in a new Certificate in Child Homelessness Studies program at Lesley University in nearby Cambridge, Massachusetts. The series of five courses — covering topics such as trauma, counseling and parent resilience — is designed to better prepare early educators to work with families in unstable living conditions.

“You don’t know when you walk into a classroom who has experienced homelessness. People don’t get trained,” Lesley professor Lisa Fiore said in an interview. She added that the new certificate program, which is designed for undergraduates who might pursue careers in education or counseling, is intended to raise awareness of how homelessness affects children.

. According to the National Center on Family Homelessness at the American Institutes for Research, roughly 2.5 million children, including 1.2 million under age 6, experience homelessness each year.

Organizations, such as SchoolHouse Connection, provide resources, including research, state policy updates and webinars. Last week, for example, Barbara Duffield, the nonprofit’s executive director, participated in a webinar featuring experts on the issue of homelessness among young children as part of the Sesame Street in Communities initiative, which includes videos and materials on how to discuss tough topics — including divorce or a family member’s incarceration — with young children.

Read the full article about homeless students by Linda Jacobson at Education Dive