NYC’s homeless student population increased last school year despite enrollment drop

Despite a considerable decline in enrollment reported by the Department of Education over the same period, more New York City students experienced homelessness during the previous academic year.

According to data provided by Advocates for Children of New York, during the most recent academic year, which ran from September 2021 to June 2022, around 104,000 kids in the city’s public school system experienced homelessness.

That represents a 3.3% increase over the academic year 2020–2021 when the advocacy group counted 101,000 homeless pupils.

According to AFC data, the city’s enrollment fell by 3.2%, or about 34,000 students, from the previous school year to the one that followed it, indicating that homelessness is becoming more pervasive among the student body.

The Department of Education’s statistics shows that roughly 1 million kids are enrolled in city public schools.

More than 100,000 city kids were categorized as homeless during the school year 2021–2022.

Mayor Adams’ administration has focused on dismantling street encampments to combat homelessness; nevertheless, opponents have objected to this strategy, calling it cruel and ineffective.

Director of AFC’s Learners in Temporary Housing Project Jennifer Pringle expressed her desire for the administration to give student homelessness more attention.

To assist homeless families in navigating the educational system, the administration committed to hiring 100 community coordinators for the Department of Education who would work out of shelters earlier this year.

However, according to Pringle, none of those positions had been filled as of this week.

The Office of Students in Temporary Housing of the department is also experiencing a leadership void as a result of the departure of the executive director earlier this fall.