A case study of the perceptions of public education as voiced by an urban population of homeless parents

In a recent report (2001) from the National Housing Coalition (NHC), homelessness is defined as having no fixed permanent address. Data from this same agent indicate that forty percent of persons living in poverty nationally are children. Philadelphia, a large urban center in Western Pennsylvania, funds an Office of Emergency Shelter Support (OESS). This office is the intake unit for homeless persons. The O.E.S.S. office estimates that approximately 8,000 school age children resided in city funded shelter sometime during the 1998--99 school year. Eighty percent of the children were of school age. Low-income black students represent over seventy percent of the local public school enrollment and homeless students represent a growing number of this total.; Due to urban renewal and redistricting the low-income black population in Philadelphia has been geographically isolated within economically disenfranchised neighborhoods. In 1975 the Pennsylvania Department of Human Resources filed a discrimination suit against the Philadelphia School district. A recent opinion summary (1994) on the status of the case asserts that the practice of segregating blacks, extending to the public schools, has not altered. Historically, black parents in Philadelphia have been provided with limited information regarding public school policy and have had marginal influence on its development.; This study sought to discover opinions on local public education from black females, residing in shelter, with children attending public school. The mothers were offered an opportunity to share their experiences and express their opinions. Parent responses to a questionnaire and a group interview reveal many negative experiences with school staff and administrators as well as parents' expressions of powerlessness within this closed system. The School District's inability to influence change that is inclusive of parent's opinions or to establish legitimate partnerships between parents and schools has resulted in parents believing that public education offers limited opportunities for their children.; This researcher believes that minimal change will occur in the low academic achievement by poor black students through offerings of support that are disconnected from the population's self-determined need. The findings from this study reveal the experiences and opinions of parents, and may demonstrate a link between the opinions and experiences, parent involvement, and low student performance.