Did You Know?
• As Vancouver’s population has increased, so has the poverty rate.
• Of the more than 23,000 students in Vancouver Public Schools, 53 percent qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a federal poverty indicator.
• More than 12,000 students in district schools live in poverty.
• The poverty rates at Washington, King and Fruit Valley elementary schools hovers around 90 percent.
• Learn more at http://foundationforvps.org or 360-313-4720.
When a group of students at Discovery Middle School consistently missed school, adult mentors met with the students to find out why the kids were absent.
The answer was unexpected.
The students said they stayed home because their families couldn’t afford personal hygiene items or socially acceptable clothing. So rather than face the possibility of being teased, bullied or socially ostracized, the students stayed home.
Did You Know?
• As Vancouver's population has increased, so has the poverty rate.
• Of the more than 23,000 students in Vancouver Public Schools, 53 percent qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a federal poverty indicator.
• More than 12,000 students in district schools live in poverty.
• The poverty rates at Washington, King and Fruit Valley elementary schools hovers around 90 percent.
• Learn more at <a href="http://foundationforvps.org">http://foundationforvps.org</a> or 360-313-4720.
The school’s Family-Community Resource Center stepped in to provide hygiene items and clothing. A little bit of money reduced a chronic absenteeism problem and helped the kids show up at school ready to learn.
The Foundation for Vancouver Public Schools funds the center at Discovery Middle School and 12 others at the district’s poorest schools: nine elementary schools, two middle schools and two high schools.
On Thursday, more than 575 supporters rallied behind the foundation at its annual fundraising luncheon at the Hilton Vancouver Washington. It broke the foundation’s attendance record.
“There’s a huge, growing need,” said Rhona Sen Hoss, the foundation’s executive director. “We’re going back to basics through our Family-Community Resource Centers.”
As Vancouver’s population has increased, so has the poverty rate. For more than 12,000 district students living in poverty, the reality is that the adults in their lives can’t consistently provide basic needs — stable housing, food, clothing, medical and dental care, school supplies, sports and other after-school activities.
“If you don’t know where you and your children are going to sleep tomorrow night, reading with your child for 20 minutes may not be the most important thing on your to-do list,” said Tamara Shoup, who oversees the district’s resource centers said. “If you have just enough gas in your car to get to work and back, you may not be able to drive across town to watch your child present at the science fair.”
The centers step in to provide for district students and their families. A little help can make all the difference, she said.
Recently, when some Washington Elementary students and their families received notice that they’d have to vacate their apartments in Courtyard Village and find a new place to live, the centers stepped in to provide vouchers for housing and gasoline, and food to help families transition into a new apartment.
From the podium, Shoup called attention to the scores of volunteers, nonprofit organizations and faith-based groups that work to meet the needs of impoverished students and their families by collecting school supplies or warm coats or food to lend a hand.
“Expecting all children to be successful in school is a pretty heavy lift,” Shoup said. “I want all our children to have their basic needs met.”
