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Standard 2 :
Teachers Establish a Respectful Environment for a Diverse Population of Students

Teachers embrace diversity in the school community and in the world.

Teachers work collaboratively with the families and significant adults in the lives of their students.

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Talking about the root causes of local and global hunger is a lot more challenging. These books below can help you begin that conversation with students. The list is arranged by age, starting with books for the youngest children. Chapter books can be found at the end of the list.

MUST HAVES IN THE CLASSROOM!!!

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As a young child, I remember being troubled by the thought that some people lived in poverty. It especially bothered me that some kids didn't have enough to eat. I'd save up my allowance and send a few dollars to world relief organizations, and wish that I could do more.

Our 5 year old also seems to be touched by hunger and homelessness more than other social problems. Maybe it's because kids know what it's like to be hungry, even if it's only for a short period of time.

Talking about the root causes of local and global hunger is a lot more challenging. The books below can help you begin that conversation. I've arranged the list by age, starting with books for the youngest children. Chapter books can be found at the end of the list.
Update 5/9/18: In my original post, I recommended the book Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Pena. Due to recent allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior, I no longer want to support his work and have deleted this portion of the post. Disclosure: For your convenience this post contains affiliate links. If you purchase items through these links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. You can read my full disclosure policy .
Yard Sale by Eve Bunting and Lauren Castillo

Unless you're a really tough cookie, reading this book out loud will bring tears to your eyes. Callie's family is moving from their big house into a small apartment. They have to sell almost everything they own. Even Callie's bike is for sale, because there's no sidewalk outside their new apartment. I'm amazed at how Bunting and Castillo have captured the sadness of this event without causing us to feel hopeless. (Recommended for ages 3 - 7).

I had no idea that there are Mennonites from Mexico who travel to Canada each summer as migrant workers. Migrant allows children to peek into their world through the eyes of Anna. Anna thinks of her family being like a flock of geese, going back and forth. She wonders what it would be like to be instead be a tree, rooted in one place. (Recommended for ages 3 - 7).

Read my review here of this beautiful story of how a community makes a meal in the midst of what seems like scarcity.
Tip: how to save 20% on this book + hundreds more titles

This is the true story of how one Ugandan child's life was changed by the gift of a goat from Beatrice helps her mother care for their garden, tends their chickens, and takes care of her younger siblings. She sometimes watches the children outside the schoolhouse, wishing she could be one of them. Her mother can't afford the fees for books and uniforms.

When Beatrice's family is chosen as one of twelve who'll receive a goat, she doesn't understand why her mother is so pleased. After Mugisa arrives, she begins to see how the animal can change her future. (Recommended for ages 4 - 10).

Who would think a story about famine and multiplication could be so engaging? Once in India there lived a raja who kept nearly all the land's rice for himself. Even during a time of famine, he was selfish. When the raja offers to reward Rani for a honest act, all she asks him for is one grain of rice, which he will double each day for thirty days. In the process, she teaches him a valuable lesson about hoarding. Demi's miniature paintings will convey even to younger children how the quantity of rice grows over time. (Recommended for ages 4 - 10).

In this story of Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai, children learn of the power of trees to solve problems of poverty, hunger, sickness, and drought. Each type of tree is attached to a particular person. This slows the story's pace enough for children to grasp about these big problems. Kadir Nelson's stunning illustrations will make you feel as if you are standing right next to the women as they plant their precious trees. (Recommended for ages 4- 10).

of this moving story of the children whose orchestra began in the garbage dumps of Cateura, Paraguay. (Recommended for ages 5 - 10).

This is the true story of a group of children from the barrio San Jose de la Urbina in Caracas, Venezuela, who simply wanted a place to play. Their impoverished community is so crowded that they cannot even play in the streets. With the help of a librarian, the children decide they will press their Mayor to give them a playground. Their bravery prompts their community to rally behind them. (Recommended for ages 6 - 10).

Read my review here of this story of two sisters who are determined to find the money they need for a "magic" lamp that will help their baby brother. (Recommended for ages 6 - 10).
Tip: how to save 20% on this book + hundreds more titles
Fight global poverty by shopping fair trade with Ten Thousand Villages

Emma loves to write stories. Right now, her "books" are made of grocery sacks held together by safety pins, but she dreams of having real store-bought notebooks. She helps her parents earn extra money to put in their "hard-times jar," but she knows that money isn't for extras like notebooks. Since her parents are migrant workers, hard times are sure to come.

Emma is determined to to earn enough extra picking apples that she can get her notebook, but then her mother says that this harvest, she must go to school instead of working in the fields. How will she ever get her real notebook? (Recommended for ages 6 - 10).

Kojo helps his mother gather and sell firewood, but there is never enough to do more than survive. When twenty of the families in their village pool their money for a loan fund, there's a chance for change. Children follow Kojo through the purchase of his first hen, whose extra eggs he will sell at the market, to the poultry farm he develops as an adult, where he gives out loans of his own. (Recommended for ages 6 - 10).

Eliana longs to serve God with her gifts, but isn't sure what to offer. Inspired by her rabbi's sermon, she decides to offer God her bread, since she is the best baker in town. She bakes two of her most extraordinary challah loaves, and places in the Holy Ark in the synagogue.

Unknown to her, Samuel, who sweeps the synagogue floor, comes along a bit later. As he sweeps he prays to God because his children are hungry but he has no money for the Sabbath meal. Finishing his prayer, Samuel notices that the Ark is open. He spots the challah and thanks God for providing it for his family. This goes on each week for years, without Eliana and Samuel knowing about each other's actions, until the rabbi discovers the situation. Will he understand how God is at work? (Recommended for ages 6 - 12).
Tip: how to save 20% on this book + hundreds more titles
One day when there is no clean water available on their long journey to home, Mimi lets her little sister Nakkissi have a drink from a stream. The next day Nakkissi becomes sick, and her mother must take them to the neighboring village to see the nurse. Mimi learns about simple cures that the nurse offers there, and wishes that her community could have its own clinic.

This fictional story introduces children to the real life basic interventions that make a tremendous difference in the lives of children facing poverty. (Recommended for ages 6 - 10).

This classic book, written in 1944, is sure to help children develop empathy towards kids like them who struggle with poverty. Wanda Petronski, a Polish immigrant in a small town, seems strange to many of the other girls in her class. She wears the same faded dress to school every day, but claims she has 100 dresses at home.

When her best friend Peggy begins teasing Wanda every day about the dresses, Maddie is uncomfortable. Maddie is no stranger to poverty. She has to wear other people's hand-me-downs. Will saying something to Peggy mean the end of their friendship? When Wanda stops coming to school, Maddie has to think long and hard about her silence. (Recommended for ages 7 - 12).

Naima is a talented painter, creating beautiful alpana patterns that Bangladeshi women paint in their homes for special occasions. But when her father cannot bring in enough money from his rickshaw business to support them, she wishes she were a boy so that she could help him drive the rickshaw.

Naima decides she will dress as a boy and try to drive it while her father is asleep, but her efforts end in disaster. When her mother decides they must sell the wedding bangle that has been in her family for years, Naima is desperate to find a way to help their family earn money. (Recommended for ages 7 - 12).

Serafina's dream of becoming a doctor seems almost impossible as she lives in a remote village in Haiti where her mother always needs her help at home. When Serafina's home is washed away in a flood, she fears that her dream has also disappeared. The encouragement of her friend Julie Marie, as well as the support of a woman doctor, gives Serafina courage to ask her parents if she can go to school. This haunting novel in verse is one that older children and adults alike can appreciate. (Recommended for ages 10+).

In a divided, impoverished neighborhood in Cleveland, a young Vietnamese girl decides to start a garden. All she does is plant a few bean seedlings in a vacant lot filled with garbage. Yet, it doesn't take long for other neighbors to notice and build upon what she is doing. The 13 chapters are each told by a different neighbor, and reveal the prejudices, suspicions, hopes, and talents that live in this community that the rest of the city has forgotten. (Recommended for ages 12+).

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18 Children's Books About Poverty and Hunger - The Barefoot Mommy

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As a young child, I remember being troubled by the thought that some people lived in poverty. It especially bothered me that some kids didn't have enough to eat. I'd save up my allowance and send a few dollars to world relief organizations, and wish that I could do more.

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Being a foster parent for 15 years has provided me an opportunity to understand how intense, high-poverty environments affect children.

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A principal, superintendent, parent, and social worker weigh in on mitigating the impact of poverty on the nation's schools and children.
Principal, March/April 2014
Web Resources

A Principal's View: A Holistic Approach
When I close my eyes at the end of the day, I think of my daughters sleeping safely in their beds. They are warm, full, and I know they had an opportunity to complete their homework and feel successful. Then my thoughts drift to my other children-the students at the school I lead, Earl Boyles Elementary. I worry about the ones I know are sleeping in cars or in shelters, waiting until Monday to eat and be warm. The ones who go to bed on someone else's couch, worrying where they are going to sleep the next night because they couldn't find shelter for the week. They do not have the opportunity to prepare for the week ahead, do their homework, have warm meals, or wash their clothes.

Although poverty impacts children and families in many ways, a major concern is a child's ability to learn when they come to school. If a child is hungry, tired, ill, or worried about shelter for the night, it will not matter if you are the best instructional leader in the nation. That child is not prepared or ready to learn.

Poverty impacts my students daily: My school serves 445 students in grades pre-K-5; 78 percent receive free- or reduced-price lunch. I have found that elementary principals must adopt a holistic approach to learning to properly address the effects of poverty on children and their families. By building cohesive, collaborative systems that work together-instead of in isolation-we can change children's lives.

I rely heavily on community resources and partnerships to positively impact my school community. We are a schoolwide Title I school and have the following supports in place for our families:

Schools Uniting Neighborhoods (SUN) After-School Program;

Bi-weekly food pantry:

Positive Behavioral Intervention Supports (PBIS) programs;

Full-day kindergarten and half-day preschool; n School support staff, such as a full-time counselor, part-time health assistant, certified music teacher, and PE teacher;

90-minute reading block for all students, with a 30-minute intervention block to individually serve students at their level with specific interventions; and

Free breakfast through the National School Breakfast Program.

Principals' roles are varied: instructional leader, operational manager, and parents' partner in their children's education. We have to be compassionate to parents' needs to ensure positive educational outcomes for their children. All of this takes courage, time, a dedicated staff, and engaged families to make a difference. Poverty is like a bone-chilling cold draft that seeps into an old home. We have to be innovative and holistic leaders to insulate our most precious valuable gift: our children.

Ericka Guynes is principal of Earl Boyles Elementary School in Portland, Oregon.

A Superintendent's View: The Impa ct of Formula Funding
The poverty gap-the biggest factor that affects student achievement-is widening in America. The good news is that we know that education disrupts poverty. However, more and more students need extra support to successfully compete in a 21st century global economy.

Title I funding helps ensure access to public education, which is a basic civil right. Title I is a provision rooted in the Elementary and Secondary School Act (ESEA)-a massive, federal program created during the Lyndon Johnson presidential administration's War on Poverty. The program was designed to distribute federal funding to schools and districts that have a high percentage of students from low-income families. Schools qualify for Title I funding if at least 40 percent of their students come from low-income families. That formula has been used since 1965.

As superintendent, I let my principals know the role of the district office is to support and assist in the Title I application process. The district looks to see that principals, teachers, staff, parents, and students can work as a team. The team goal is to uncover interventions that work for students and to establish a positive working culture for all stakeholders.

It's also important to recognize that it takes at least three years for positive and substantial change to occur. There is no silver bullet. At the same time, we should focus on services to students that need help the most. Federal dollars are appropriated to ensure that students are given opportunities for success. Thus, tutoring, technology, improved teacher effectiveness, counseling, and other effective programs can help ensure that funds based on the percentage of students in poverty are going to improve struggling schools, not just increasing test scores.

All children deserve to attend well-financed schools that provide a strong education. Good schools develop great kids who perform well in society. Yet, we know that is not the case in many neighborhoods across the county. Some schools need more help than others. Title I is an important tool that helps provide opportunities for all students. In addition to funding, what is also needed is alignment with other relevant systems, such as health care, housing, and community resources, these can be used to partner with schools to enrich the lives of kids.

Lyndon Johnson's Great Society made important strides towards the elimination of poverty. As we prepare the next generation of learners to be college- and career-ready, we encourage our government to help develop the capacity by providing leadership and resources.

Marc Jackson is superintendent of the Silver Valley Unified School District in Yermo, California.

A Parent's View: Support for Foster Children
Being a foster parent for 15 years has provided me an opportunity to understand how intense, high-poverty environments affect children. Many foster children come from high-poverty situations; often, they are exposed to neglect and abuse. These environments put them at risk for major traumatic stress.

One way educators and school counselors can support foster children is to understand this stress, and seek professional development focused on mitigating it. The local child welfare agency can provide this training for educators.

In addition, educators can develop supportive partnerships to reach out to families. When foster children return to their biological families, who often live in poverty, it's important for schools to engage these families in the educational process. What I have learned is that engaging these families takes a special commitment from principals and teachers. Social workers are also a big part of the equation. Their intervention before, during, and after foster care goes a long way toward helping the child adjust. The social worker, who is responsible for monitoring the child's educational progress, should be a part of the team partnership that includes the principal, teacher, student, and parent.

Supportive teams and partnerships should be developed from structures and resources that already exist, such as Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs). PTAs and specialized community PTA groups can address the needs of specific groups of families. For example, the nation's first Foster Parent PTA in Maryland trains parents living in poverty situations to be more effective educational supporters once they have been reunited with their children. The Foster Parent PTA also organizes traumatic stress training for foster families, who are often provided with only basic-level training on stress and educational support.

Teachers can work with the PTA or another organized parent group (OPG) to identify support areas for both foster families and biological parents. For example, foster parents can be encouraged to attend school functions and, when appropriate, the biological parent should also be invited. At least one parent/teacher or team conference should includethe child's agency social worker. Foster parents should introduce the child to the principal, reinforcing the idea that the child is being supported by a team of individuals.

Families provide more supportive learning environments when they feel their school wants them to be involved. Principals can look to PTAs or OPGs to assist parents in meeting these expectations, and can help identify additional external resources for families, as well as increase family engagement generally.

Strong school-family partnerships help parents support academic achievement, and principals are key in setting a welcoming tone for parents.

Sam Macer is a parent, foster parent, and PTA leader in Baltimore, Maryland.

A Social Worker's View: Create Ownership
Poverty can impact a student's development in numerous ways: food insecurity, health issues, and exposure to violent neighborhoods, to name a few. Poverty can also impact mental health and social functioning.

Poverty does not create mental health issues, per se, but the presence of numerous psychosocial stressors caused by poverty and families' limited access to resources can create traumatic experiences and reduce students' abilities to cope with the difficulties of life. These experiences can lead to mental health diagnoses such as post-traumatic stress disorder and major depressive disorder, which have both been linked to poverty.

What is more, students in resource-poor areas are more likely to lack mentorship, community guidance, safe living and learning environments, quiet study areas, and other external assets that students not living in poverty are more likely to have. In addition, research has shown that students in foster care struggle academically at a greater rate than any other subgroup, and students from families receiving welfare achieve at a lower rate than those who do not receive public assistance.

When working with students living in poverty, school social workers need to establish a relationship built on mutual respect, acceptance, care, and commitment to the community. They should use an empowerment approach when working with students, engaging them in their own change effort. This method of interaction not only creates ownership by students of their own solutions, leading to sustainable change efforts, but also has the potential to help students take ownership of other areas of their lives.

School social workers assess for a range of issues that impact the student's academic success in the home, school, or community environment. Once barriers to learning are identified, a mutually agreed upon plan to address those barriers is created. These plans may include provision of basic needs and services such as counseling by the school social worker, referrals to school-based and community resources for mental health treatment, parental support, and academic supports.

School social workers may also provide special education services such as assessment and counseling to identified youth. They often uncover barriers to learning that were not the original presenting problem. As a result, they may engage in advocacy for the student as part of an overall school reform effort, create counseling groups with other students, or initiate more universal interventions aligned with Tier I of multi-tiered systems of support. These efforts are intended to help students focus on academics by reducing the psychosocial stressors associated with poverty.

Principals can support this process by ensuring that school social workers are consistent members of support teams that develop behavioral interventions with students, communicate to all staff the importance of socio-emotional learning and behavioral interventions, and include school social workers in site-based decision-making to ensure that these services are embedded in the school's strategic plans.

Principals can leverage school social workers as not only direct providers of mental health services, but also as the link between the school and the community. School social workers possess the ability to create partnerships between community agencies and schools and use site-based, district-initiated, and community-developed resources to enhance student learning potential and opportunity. They also specialize in working with marginalized populations, including youth who are in foster care, experience homelessness, are immigrants, are subject to frequent moves, and are the children of military personnel.

Principals should engage the community to bring resources on campus, provide meaningful engagement opportunities for parents, and encourage partnerships with key stakeholders. This type of collaboration sends a message to students, parents, and the community that schools are supportive of all the experiences that impact learning, even those outside of the school walls. When staff members voice discipline, behavioral, or academic concerns, principals should always ask questions about the students' social environment, their psychosocial stressors, and their coping abilities. With consistent reinforcement from leadership, staff will start to emphasize the whole child and find points of connection with students. This is a key transition. Educators should seek to understand students using trauma-informed approaches.

Tory Cox, a licensed clinical social worker and credentialed school social worker, is assistant director of field education at the University of Southern California School of Social Work.

Copyright © National Association of Elementary School Principals. No part of the articles in NAESP magazines, newsletters, or website may be reproduced in any medium without the permission of the National Association of Elementary School Principals. For more information, view NAESP's reprint policy.

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A principal, superintendent, parent, and social worker weigh in on mitigating the impact of poverty on the nation's schools and children. Principal, March/April 2014 Web Resources A Principal's View: A Holistic Approach When I close my eyes at the end of the day, I think of my daughters sleeping safely in their beds.

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When serving in schools with students who are living in poverty, it is important to know how to do our best to help and empower our students.

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As educators, we come across a vast number of students from all walks of life. In Statistics On How Poverty Affects Children in Schools, author Jana Sosnowski shared, "Approximately one in five children in the United States live in poverty, according to the American Psychological Association, a status that affects more than housing status and food supply." This is something that has triggered lots of talk about educational reform.

Many circumstances students living in poverty encounter are beyond their control. They can face many challenges that affect their brain development, emotional well-being, relationships with others, and school achievement. When serving in schools with students who are living in poverty, it is important to know how to do our best to help and empower our students.

Check out these 5 concrete ways to help students living in poverty.

1. Have high expectations.

When you have students who are living in poverty, compassion is important. But, it does students an injustice if you do not hold them to high expectations. As educators, we want our students to do their best and succeed in our class and life. Holding students to high expectations allows them to work toward reachable goals that can empower them with intrinsic motivation. This is important because once a student leaves your class, hopefully, you have instilled in them the power to work hard toward their goals and rise to the occasion.

Here are 4 ideas to try.

Give students the opportunity to set goals. Then, coach them to achieve their goals.

Hold students accountable for classroom expectations. Have conversations about why they are important to follow.

Expect the best out of students when it comes to their work.

Be a role model. Share your goals and high expectations for yourself with your students.

2. Expose students to places outside of the classroom.

Many times students' experiences can be limited due to their means and their parents/caregivers experiences. It is integral to show students the world around them and open their eyes to what the world has to offer.

Here are 4 ideas to try.

Teach students about different career options, arts-related or not.

Bring in artists and other career professionals to speak to your class.

Get students off school grounds and take a field trip to a local museum.

Use the web to take a virtual field trip through museum websites or videos.

Finally, be sure to connect learning in the classroom to real life experiences. This will truly enhance your students' perspective as they learn and move through life.

3. Build relationships with your students and their families.

Building relationships is a key aspect when it comes to a creating a positive learning environment. It also helps foster mutual respect and trust with your students and their families. One factor those living in poverty often face is high mobility due to unstable living situations. Be a source of consistency. Let your students and families know they can trust you and make them feel welcome.

If you're interested, we have a PRO Learning Pack dedicated to building positive relationships. You can explore a variety of activities for building trust and engagement including how to use art processes to build positive social and emotional skills.

4. Teach them social-emotional learning strategies.

Students who live in poverty can have trouble focusing in school because of things troubling them in their personal lives. It's important to teach positive social and emotional skills that can build trust, respect, community, and personal growth. These skills can also help students learn to regulate their feelings and transition to a mindset ready for learning. Let's take a look at three ideas.

Breathing Techniques

A great way to teach students how to regulate their emotions is to take a step back and do some breathing techniques. If your school does not already teach breathing techniques, you can easily do this in your classroom.
3 Strategies to Try:

Beach Ball
Have students pretend they are holding an imaginary beach ball. When they inhale they pretend the ball is expanding. While they exhale they pretend the ball is squeezing inward.

Square
This breathing technique simply has students take their finger and trace a square in front of them in the air. As students make the first line for the top of the square, they inhale. As students make the second line of the square going down, they exhale and so on. You can repeat this as many times as you want.

Bunny Breath
This is a great breathing strategy, especially for your youngest students. Have your students pretend to be rabbits. They will need to take three quick sniffs in the nose, and one long exhale out the nose.

Calm Down Corner

A Calm Down Corner is a space in your classroom that allows students who are not regulated or in the proper mindset to begin learning to go and regulate themselves. You can have students use a stress ball, glitter bottles, or breathing techniques to begin to calm down. You may also want to have a self-reflection sheet available to help students process their feelings.

Classroom Circles

One way to build community is through classroom circles. This technique involves students getting in a circle and sharing based on a prompt given by the teacher.
Here is how it works:

Students get in a circle with the teacher. Ground rules should be shared to promote trust, respect, and honesty.

The teacher shares a prompt for students to answer.

The only person talking must hold a "talking piece." This practice allows each student to have a turn without interruption.

When everyone who wants to speak has spoken, the teacher can close the circle and thank the students for sharing.

In general ed circles, sometimes this technique is practiced daily. However, if you are a teacher who doesn't see your students every day, you could try implementing it once or twice a month.

5. Create a positive classroom culture

Making sure you have a classroom that exudes positivity and community is important. Be sure to teach your students to be compassionate and respectful toward one another. It can be helpful to have specific conversations about not judging others, especially on outward appearances. Team building exercises, modeling kindness, having mutual respect, and sharing the importance of accepting others are great ways to make this happen in your classroom.

Overall, students living in poverty are just like other children, but they can encounter limitations and barriers that make it harder to learn. We must do our best to make sure each child knows how special they are and that no matter what problems they may face, there is someone who loves and believes in them.
What tips do you have for teachers working with students living in poverty? Do you use social-emotional strategies in the classroom?
Magazine articles and podcasts are opinions of professional education contributors and do not necessarily represent the position of the Art of Education University (AOEU) or its academic offerings. Contributors use terms in the way they are most often talked about in the scope of their educational experiences.

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5 Concrete Ways to Help Students Living in Poverty

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Educating students who live in poverty is a vital part of today's curriculum. Here are 5 ways you can start making strides towards serving kids in poverty more effectively. Resources, lists, and images to helo you educate and teach kids in poverty. This article will take 7 minutes to read.

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40% of children living in poverty aren’t prepared to receive schooling at the primary level

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At Children Incorporated, we believe that education is a way out of poverty for children, both in the United States and globally. Many barriers stand in the way of children receiving an education, from unaffordable school fees and a lack of basic facilities, to discrimination and low-quality instruction. These are often compounded by some cultural practices such as early marriage, as well as by the general preference of boys over girls, both of which make education out of reach for many girls. Around the world, threats of natural disasters and civil conflicts also disrupt many children's education.

Global child education facts

- Children from the poorest households are 3 times less likely to attend school than children from the richest households

- 57 million children around the world are not attending school - and the majority of these young people are girls

- For each additional year of primary school attendance, a female worker's wages increase 10 to 20%, on average

- Educated mothers tend to send their children to school, helping to break the cycle of poverty

- Nearly a billion people entered the 21 st century unable to read a book or sign their names

- 40% of children living in poverty aren't prepared to receive schooling at the primary level

Students who come from low-income families are 7 times more likely to drop out of school than those from families with higher incomes

National child education facts

- Poverty's effects on the psychological and emotional states of children contribute to both student interest in school and overall happiness

- Children living in poverty have a higher rate of absenteeism or leave school altogether because they are more likely to have to work or care for family members

- Students who come from low-income families are 7 times more likely to drop out of school than those from families with higher incomes

- In 2015, approximately 10% of children had parents who didn't complete high school; 27% lived in households with single mothers; 8% lived in single father households; and 20% came from families living in poverty

- In 2013, the school dropout rate for students in the nation was at 8% for African American youth, 7% for Hispanic youth - both of which are higher than the dropout rate for Caucasian youth (4%)

What Children Incorporated does to support children's education

Children Incorporated provides resources to children in need in the United States and abroad because we passionately believe that children everywhere deserve education, hope, and opportunity. Through our sponsorship program, we provide basic necessities such as food, clothing, healthcare, and educational support to children living in poverty. These essentials, so often taken for granted, are vital to a child's growth and success in school.

How you can help

You can help a child living in poverty to receive an education in a few different ways. One way is through our child sponsorship program. Sponsorship provides an underprivileged child with basic and education-related necessities such as food, clothing, healthcare, school supplies, and school tuition payments. This vital support allows impoverished, vulnerable children to develop to their full potential - physically, emotionally, and socially. Sponsors positively impact the lives of the children they sponsor through the simple knowledge that someone cares about their well-being. This gives children in need hope, which is powerful.

Our policy has always been to consider the needs of each sponsored child on an individual basis. We work closely with our volunteer coordinators at our project sites, who are familiar with each individual circumstance and the needs of every child in their care. Sponsorship donations are sent to our projects - orphanages, homes, community centers, and schools - at the beginning of each month in the form of subsidy stipends. Our on-site volunteer coordinators use these funds to purchase basic and education-related items for children in our program, to ensure that they have what they need to do their very best and succeed in school.

You can also help children in need by donating to one of our special funds. Our special funds offer a variety of giving options for sponsors who wish to further their support, as well as for donors who wish to make a difference without making a commitment.

References:
https://www.unicef.org/media/media_39441.html http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-education-and-poverty-america https://www.children.org/global-poverty/global-poverty-facts/facts-about-world-poverty-and-education http://www.care.org/work/poverty/child-poverty/facts https://borgenproject.org/10-facts-children-living-poverty/ http://education.seattlepi.com/statistics-poverty-affects-children-schools-3636.html https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_cce.asp
***

HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD with Children Incorporated?

You can sponsor a child with Children Incorporated in one of three ways: call our office at 1-800-538-5381 and speak with one of our staff members; email us at sponsorship@children-inc.org; or go online to our donation portal, create an account, and search for a child that is available for sponsorship.

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Children's Education and Poverty - Children Incorporated

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At Children Incorporated, we believe that education is a way out of poverty for children, both in the United States and globally. Many barriers stand in the way of children receiving an education, from unaffordable school fees and a lack of basic facilities, to discrimination and low-quality instruction.

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How do we organize our lessons to better the students in extra need of our attention? 

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How do we organize our lessons to better the students in extra need of our attention? 

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ChildFund’s Just Read! program encourages some of the most vulnerable children in the U.S. to read, develop a more positive attitude toward reading and education and build strong relationships with their peers and families.

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Child Literacy and Education Charity | ChildFund

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Join us in helping children in the U.S. break the cycle of poverty - and truly change lives - with your gift right now to Just Read!

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The National Mentoring Resource Center provides a collection of mentoring handbooks, curricula, manuals, and other resources that practitioners can use to implement and further develop program practices.

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1. Disadvantages due to parental lifestyles
2. Lack of Poverty-Specific Learning Programs
3. Reduced Verbal and Reasoning Skills
4. Impaired Development Due to Stress
5. Learned Helplessness
6. Bad School Conditions
7. Being Unaware of the Possibilities

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1. Disadvantages due to parental lifestyles

Poor families are less likely to be able to afford proper nutrition and sometimes simply don't have enough food at home. With little financial education, debt and low-earnings, poor families might have to send their kids to school without breakfast or lunch. A 2008 study shows that not eating enough can reduce the brain's capacity to learn, and poor students quickly end up falling behind their classmates.

Children who were exposed to drug use before birth can have cognitive deficiencies. Meanwhile, children who witness violence or experience household stress can also experience learning limitations due to an inability to cope with the situation. These conditions are much more likely to occur in low-income families.

However, cities across the country offer free parenting workshops in person and online to help parents give their kids a better start. Free classes in parenting, nutrition, and stress control assist in ensuring that poor children have a chance of doing well in school. Many organizations also offer help to specific groups, such as families with premature babies, children who have disabilities, and kids with learning difficulties. And in addition to its existing free summer breakfast programs, New York is leading the way to better learning: the city has just announced it will be giving free lunches to all public school students.

2. Lack of poverty-specific learning programs

Much of the focus on improving education occurs at the national level, and this results in standards that are geared toward the learning population in general. This means that poor neighbourhoods must live up to the same criteria as all other neighbourhoods. Compounding this problem is the fact that few schools have the resources to help individuals who are failing at school. They are often treated as a statistic that hurts the school's graduation rate.

However, some schools have developed programs that help poor children catch up to their peers. For now, specialized programs are working on a local level and are founded by people who see the struggles of these poor children every day. However, national recognition of the learning gaps between poor children and their peers would help move funding where it's needed the most.

3. Reduced verbal and reasoning skills

Students from impoverished households tend to have lower levels of verbal and reasoning skills than their peers because their parents are less likely to read to them. With longer working hours, lower levels of education, and fewer literary resources, poor parents are unable to give their kids the same level of attention and thus their children learn a much more limited vocabulary. Moreover, poor children have often not been asked to find solutions to problems or received advice on how to handle difficult situations before entering school. As a result, a study done in 1995 found that poor children had heard 32 million fewer words than other students starting school.

On the bright side, organizations like iMentor match volunteer mentors with high school students from disadvantaged backgrounds to work with them on an individual basis to ensure they graduate and make it in college. The National Mentoring Resource Center also offers many resources and access to programs to help kids who need guidance to do better in school.

4. Impaired development due to stress

Children's brains develop best when they have low exposure to stress in the home. Poverty can create a series of emergencies that trigger stress hormones. These hormones have a dampening effect on brain development, which can result in an inability to pay attention, regulate emotions, or develop proper memory function.

But there is hope. Brain plasticity is the ability of the brain to compensate for underdeveloped regions by boosting others. With support from outside the home to help deal better with stress, these kids' brains can naturally overcome these issues.

5. Learned helplessness

Many impoverished children have grown up with what is sometimes called "learned helplessness." They believe that the odds are stacked against them and there is nothing they can do to get out of the cycle of poverty and even gang violence in their communities.

Yet the story of Juan Carlos Reyes shows that this doesn't have to be true. Reyes was regularly cutting class, getting high, and was headed for gang life until school turned him around. After meeting a tough teacher who refused to believe Reyes was a failure, the teen got involved with sports, learned respect and discipline, and overcame his learning difficulties. Thanks to taking part in free school counseling, college visits, and SAT prep classes, Reyes went on to graduate from high school, his first round of college, and is now pursuing a master's degree.

6. Bad school conditions

A 2008 study found that schools that provide a run down environment affect poor kids just as much as parental neglect does. Schools are often funded by property taxes, and locations with lower property values have less tax money to work with. When a school is in need of repair, lacks books and other resources, and has a hard time retaining teachers, students are negatively impacted.

Unfortunately, school districts across North America continue to be unable to fix crumbling schools. Federal funding is hard to come by and there's no organized plan for rebuilding or renewing schools. In the end, school districts or even individual schools are left on their own to form committees to review their building's needs, create action plans, and work to secure funding to fix their schools.

7. Being unaware of the possibilities

Many poor children are not taught about the variety of career opportunities within and outside of their communities. Growing up poor, they leave school with a general focus on "making money" instead of trying to excel at a career. It's not a matter of lack of motivation; it's a question of lack of information. Schools can educate children about careers and what it takes to succeed on the job, helping poor students aim higher.

Poverty and education are related

Poverty not only affects education at the institutional level, but it also affects learners on a personal level. Opportunities can seem limited for poor students, and the children's ability and willingness to take advantage of existing opportunities may be limited.

Thankfully, charities and educational organizations are working harder than ever to level the playing field by providing resources for disadvantaged children. They are working to create innovative approaches to enable poor children to learn better and reach higher -- and individual students like Juan Carlos Reyes are proving it can be done.

Now it's time to take the game from a one-on-one to a team effort: state, provincial, and federal efforts need to work harder to help poor kids graduate school at the top. These kids are our social and economic future. We can't afford to let them down.

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Kevin Johnston was formerly a freelance contributor to Moneywise. Johnston writes for organizations such as John Hancock, Weill Cornell Medical College, Rutgers University, Standard and Poor's, Ameriprise Financial, ADP and Cigna. His articles have been published in The New York Daily News, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Houston Chronicle, Business Age, Nation's Business and Zack's Investment Research. Johnston has had a regular column on the music industry in Music Row Magazine, has published numerous articles on education, and is known as an expert in instructional design and training, investment writing, small business management and finance.

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Disclaimer

The content provided on Moneywise is information to help users become financially literate. It is neither tax nor legal advice, is not intended to be relied upon as a forecast, research or investment advice, and is not a recommendation, offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities or to adopt any investment strategy. Tax, investment and all other decisions should be made, as appropriate, only with guidance from a qualified professional. We make no representation or warranty of any kind, either express or implied, with respect to the data provided, the timeliness thereof, the results to be obtained by the use thereof or any other matter. Advertisers are not responsible for the content of this site, including any editorials or reviews that may appear on this site. For complete and current information on any advertiser product, please visit their website.

†Terms and Conditions apply.

1. Disadvantages due to parental lifestyles

Poor families are less likely to be able to afford proper nutrition and sometimes simply don't have enough food at home. With little financial education, debt and low-earnings, poor families might have to send their kids to school without breakfast or lunch. A 2008 study shows that not eating enough can reduce the brain's capacity to learn, and poor students quickly end up falling behind their classmates.

Children who were exposed to drug use before birth can have cognitive deficiencies. Meanwhile, children who witness violence or experience household stress can also experience learning limitations due to an inability to cope with the situation. These conditions are much more likely to occur in low-income families.

However, cities across the country offer free parenting workshops in person and online to help parents give their kids a better start. Free classes in parenting, nutrition, and stress control assist in ensuring that poor children have a chance of doing well in school. Many organizations also offer help to specific groups, such as families with premature babies, children who have disabilities, and kids with learning difficulties. And in addition to its existing free summer breakfast programs, New York is leading the way to better learning: the city has just announced it will be giving free lunches to all public school students.

2. Lack of poverty-specific learning programs

Much of the focus on improving education occurs at the national level, and this results in standards that are geared toward the learning population in general. This means that poor neighbourhoods must live up to the same criteria as all other neighbourhoods. Compounding this problem is the fact that few schools have the resources to help individuals who are failing at school. They are often treated as a statistic that hurts the school's graduation rate.

However, some schools have developed programs that help poor children catch up to their peers. For now, specialized programs are working on a local level and are founded by people who see the struggles of these poor children every day. However, national recognition of the learning gaps between poor children and their peers would help move funding where it's needed the most.

3. Reduced verbal and reasoning skills

Students from impoverished households tend to have lower levels of verbal and reasoning skills than their peers because their parents are less likely to read to them. With longer working hours, lower levels of education, and fewer literary resources, poor parents are unable to give their kids the same level of attention and thus their children learn a much more limited vocabulary. Moreover, poor children have often not been asked to find solutions to problems or received advice on how to handle difficult situations before entering school. As a result, a study done in 1995 found that poor children had heard 32 million fewer words than other students starting school.

On the bright side, organizations like iMentor match volunteer mentors with high school students from disadvantaged backgrounds to work with them on an individual basis to ensure they graduate and make it in college. The National Mentoring Resource Center also offers many resources and access to programs to help kids who need guidance to do better in school.

4. Impaired development due to stress

Children's brains develop best when they have low exposure to stress in the home. Poverty can create a series of emergencies that trigger stress hormones. These hormones have a dampening effect on brain development, which can result in an inability to pay attention, regulate emotions, or develop proper memory function.

But there is hope. Brain plasticity is the ability of the brain to compensate for underdeveloped regions by boosting others. With support from outside the home to help deal better with stress, these kids' brains can naturally overcome these issues.

5. Learned helplessness

Many impoverished children have grown up with what is sometimes called "learned helplessness." They believe that the odds are stacked against them and there is nothing they can do to get out of the cycle of poverty and even gang violence in their communities.

Yet the story of Juan Carlos Reyes shows that this doesn't have to be true. Reyes was regularly cutting class, getting high, and was headed for gang life until school turned him around. After meeting a tough teacher who refused to believe Reyes was a failure, the teen got involved with sports, learned respect and discipline, and overcame his learning difficulties. Thanks to taking part in free school counseling, college visits, and SAT prep classes, Reyes went on to graduate from high school, his first round of college, and is now pursuing a master's degree.

6. Bad school conditions

A 2008 study found that schools that provide a run down environment affect poor kids just as much as parental neglect does. Schools are often funded by property taxes, and locations with lower property values have less tax money to work with. When a school is in need of repair, lacks books and other resources, and has a hard time retaining teachers, students are negatively impacted.

Unfortunately, school districts across North America continue to be unable to fix crumbling schools. Federal funding is hard to come by and there's no organized plan for rebuilding or renewing schools. In the end, school districts or even individual schools are left on their own to form committees to review their building's needs, create action plans, and work to secure funding to fix their schools.

7. Being unaware of the possibilities

Many poor children are not taught about the variety of career opportunities within and outside of their communities. Growing up poor, they leave school with a general focus on "making money" instead of trying to excel at a career. It's not a matter of lack of motivation; it's a question of lack of information. Schools can educate children about careers and what it takes to succeed on the job, helping poor students aim higher.

Poverty and education are related

Poverty not only affects education at the institutional level, but it also affects learners on a personal level. Opportunities can seem limited for poor students, and the children's ability and willingness to take advantage of existing opportunities may be limited.

Thankfully, charities and educational organizations are working harder than ever to level the playing field by providing resources for disadvantaged children. They are working to create innovative approaches to enable poor children to learn better and reach higher -- and individual students like Juan Carlos Reyes are proving it can be done.

Now it's time to take the game from a one-on-one to a team effort: state, provincial, and federal efforts need to work harder to help poor kids graduate school at the top. These kids are our social and economic future. We can't afford to let them down.

Sponsored

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Disclaimer

The content provided on Moneywise is information to help users become financially literate. It is neither tax nor legal advice, is not intended to be relied upon as a forecast, research or investment advice, and is not a recommendation, offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities or to adopt any investment strategy. Tax, investment and all other decisions should be made, as appropriate, only with guidance from a qualified professional. We make no representation or warranty of any kind, either express or implied, with respect to the data provided, the timeliness thereof, the results to be obtained by the use thereof or any other matter. Advertisers are not responsible for the content of this site, including any editorials or reviews that may appear on this site. For complete and current information on any advertiser product, please visit their website.

†Terms and Conditions apply.

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Poverty is the no. 1 enemy of education on every level. Here are seven of the biggest ways poverty affects education.

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When you become a Guardian Angel, you'll help provide lifesaving protection for children in the U.S. and around the world. You’ll become part of the solution — making the world a safer place for vulnerable child

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Protect children from unspeakable violence, exploitation and abuse.

Prevent devastation suffering caused by child trafficking, forced labor and many other dangers

Shield young girls from dangers including forced marriage.

Increase birth registrations and improve children's access to rights like medical care and education.

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Protect children from unspeakable violence, exploitation and abuse. Prevent devastation suffering caused by child trafficking, forced labor and many other dangers Shield young girls from dangers including forced marriage. Increase birth registrations and improve children's access to rights like medical care and education.

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1. How can we attribute to poverty locally and globally?

2. How can we make ourselves aware of poverty issues in todays society?

3. How can we be aware of poverty in education?

4. What can we do to help poverty issues in education?

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This article, "The Effects of Poverty on Education", breaks down the different effects that poverty can have on our students.

The article looks at the reading gap students enter school having.

"Children born or raised in poverty face a number of disadvantages, most evidently in education. Poverty reduces a child’s readiness for school because it leads to poor physical health and motor skills, diminishes a child’s ability to concentrate and remember information, and reduces attentiveness, curiosity and motivation."

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Child poverty in America is a complex problem that causes challenges for underprivileged children and their families. Learn more about how poverty affects children in the U.S.