Michigan policymakers and advocates are calling on the state to adopt a new school funding formula that provides additional funding to students with greater educational need, such as students with greater economic need. For Michigan students who have been identified as economically disadvantaged, at least a 35 percent weight is necessary for…

Before the start of the pandemic, Michigan's public schools identified 4,763 homeless youth living independent of parental support. These youth are homeless--living outside, in shelters, or bouncing from couch to couch. They are estranged from their parents, usually due to abuse, neglect, or parents' struggles with addiction, mental health…

Few studies consider how non-cognitive factors shape outcomes for students served by Promise programs, which are programs that guarantee tuition-free college attendance within a specified geographic area. This single-institution study examined differences between enrolled and stopped-out Kalamazoo Promise scholars' (N = 142) basic needs,…

America is ramping up efforts to improve outcomes for students experiencing homelessness. In addition to increased awareness of the problem, groundbreaking legislation and policies at all levels, public and private support organizations, local communities, and states are undertaking a variety of efforts to boost outcomes for some of the country's…

Recent research in the State of Michigan has shown homelessness among children to be a key factor predicting student achievement in both rural and urban areas, yet little attention has been given, thus far, to understanding where homeless students in Michigan attend school and how their needs might differ depending on their geographic location.…

Several systemic factors contribute to the lack of stability and educational opportunities for students in foster care, including lack of transportation to the school of origin (or the schools they enrolled in when they first entered foster care), difficulty enrolling in new schools and transferring credits between school districts, gaps in…

Educational achievement of students can be negatively affected by their changing schools often. The recent economic downturn, with foreclosures and homelessness, may be increasing student mobility. To inform Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) reauthorization, the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) was asked: (1) What are…