Addressing Needs of Homeless Students in High School from the Principal Perspective

Educators in New York City are aware of the effects of homelessness on students’ academic success and college or career readiness. The state education departments and districts provide professional learning opportunities in an effort to support teachers in preparing homeless students to transition out of high and into college or a career. Principals who have been trained in the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (MKV) and its requirements may possess some knowledge of what it takes to meet the academic needs of homeless students. This mixed-method study focused on examining the knowledge and training principals had with the MKV and its requirements. The researcher also examined the academic interventions and practices that principals implemented to ensure academic success for homeless students and how these factors impacted academic success and college or career readiness for homeless students. The overarching themes in this study revealed that principals have MKV knowledge within their team but do not possess it themselves. The study also revealed that principals were providing interventions and practices for all students, but such programs and interventions were not specifically dedicated to homeless students. The limitation of this study was a low response rate, but the researcher used this limitation as an opportunity to elicit recommendations for conducting future research with principals