Fronteras: A three-part series exploring hidden pockets of poverty: In college towns across the West, it's often a struggle to find both low-income and student housing. We explore a new trend of higher poverty rates in the nation's suburbs. As the number of poor students increases the amount of per pupil funding doesn't. We look at one public school district that's trying to do more with less. Also, a look at the unique challenges the children of migrant farm workers face when it comes to getting an education.
College Town Struggles To Keep Low Income Housing
In a growing college town like Flagstaff, Ariz., it’s often a struggle to find both low-income housing and student housing. A new project for off-campus housing at Northern Arizona University may result in the eviction of more than 50 families at a nearby trailer park. Families who say they have no place to go.
Other college towns like Berkeley, Santa Barbara and Santa Fe face similar problems. In the first of a three-part series looking at hidden pockets of poverty in our communities, Laurel Morales reports from the Changing America Desk in Flagstaff.
Hidden In The Suburbs: America's New Poor
Poverty in the U.S. is no longer relegated to the ghettos and barrios of the inner cities. Today, more poor people can be found living in the suburbs than the cities. Between 2000 and 2012 the number of people living below the poverty line in the suburbs of Las Vegas has more than doubled. Hidden in the midst of seemingly middle-class neighborhoods, the poor population is harder to find and harder to help. From our Fronteras Desk in Las Vegas Kate Sheehy reports.
School Leaders Try To Do More With Less
Poor students now make up a majority of kids in public schools in the West. That’s according to a recent study from the Southern Education Foundation. But as the rate of poverty in schools has gone up, the amount of state funding for students hasn’t kept pace. In the last part of a three-part series exploring hidden pockets of poverty in our communities, Laurel Morales looks at how Flagstaff school leaders try to fill that gap.
Migrant Education Program Gives Farmworkers' Children A Boost
The children of migrant farm workers sometimes face a life on the move that means their education is continually interrupted. The federal government helps them catch up and keep up through the Migrant Education Program. Jill Replogle from our Fronteras Desk looks at how the program works today in one of Southern California’s major agricultural areas.
Latino Students Show Modest Gains On Nation's Latest Report Card
The U.S. got a new report card Thursday evaluating reading and math proficiency among fourth and eighth graders. Modest gains by Latino students contributed to improvement in some Southwestern states. From Las Vegas Kate Sheehy reports.
