Education provides the best chance for children to break the cycle of poverty and homelessness. Not only is academic achievement crucial for life outcomes, but the social and emotional development that happens in school is vital as well. The connections created in the classroom are even more critical for any child who has experienced housing instability and homelessness.

More than 140,000 children attending New York City public schools have experienced homelessness within the past six years. Together, these children would form a city larger than White Plains and New Rochelle combined, with roughly the same population size as Syracuse, NewYork. Given the prevalence of homelessness among school-age students, educators and policymakers need to understand the educational challenges that students experiencing homelessness face, and the opportunities that exist to help students in temporary housing succeed.