Much attention in the post-pandemic era has been on what students have lost – days of school, psychological health, knowledge and skills. But now we have evidence that they may also have gained something: schools that address more of their needs. A majority of public schools have begun providing services that are far afield from traditional academics, including healthcare, housing assistance, childcare and food aid. 

In a Department of Education survey released in October 2023 of more than 1,300 public schools, 60 percent said they were partnering with community organizations to provide non-educational services. That’s up from 45 percent a year earlier in 2022, the first time the department surveyed schools about their involvement in these services. They include access to medical, dental, and mental health providers as well as social workers. Adult education is also often part of the package; the extras are not just for kids. 

“It is a shift,” said Marguerite Roza, director of the Edunomics Lab at Georgetown University, where she tracks school spending. “We’ve seen partnering with the YMCA and with health groups for medical services and psychological evaluations.”

Deeper involvement in the community started as an emergency response to the coronavirus pandemic. As schools shuttered their classrooms, many became hubs where families obtained food or internet access. Months later, many schools opened their doors to become vaccine centers. 

New community alliances were further fueled by more than $200 billion in federal pandemic recovery funds that have flowed to schools. “Schools have a lot of money now and they’re trying to spend it down,” said Roza. Federal regulations encourage schools to spend recovery funds on nonprofit community services, and unspent funds will eventually be forfeited.

The term “community school” generally refers to schools that provide a cluster of wraparound services under one roof. The hope is that students living in poverty will learn more if their basic needs are met. Schools that provide only one or two services are likely among the 60 percent of schools that said they were using a community school or wraparound services model, but they aren’t necessarily full-fledged community schools, Department of Education officials said.

The wording of the question on the federal School Pulse Panel survey administered in August 2023 allowed for a broad interpretation of what it means to be a community school. The question posed to a sample of schools across all 50 states was this: “Does your school use a “community school” or “wraparound services” model? A community school or wraparound services model is when a school partners with other government agencies and/or local nonprofits to support and engage with the local community (e.g., providing mental and physical health care, nutrition, housing assistance, etc.).” 

The most common service provided was mental health (66 percent of schools) followed by food assistance (55 percent). Less common were medical clinics and adult education, but many more schools said they were providing these services than in the past.

The number of full-fledged community schools is also believed to be growing, according to education officials and researchers. Federal funding for community schools tripled during the pandemic to $75 million in 2021-22 from $25 million in 2019-20. According to the  education department, the federal community schools program now serves more than 700,000 students in about 250 school districts, but there are additional state and private funding sources too. 

Whether it’s a good idea for most schools to expand their mission and adopt aspects of the community school model depends on one’s view of the purpose of school. Some argue that schools are taking on too many functions and should not attempt to create outposts for outside services. Others argue that strong community engagement is an important aspect of education and can improve daily attendance and learning. Research studies conducted before the pandemic have found that academic benefits from full-fledged community schools can take several years to materialize. It’s a big investment without an instant payoff.

Meanwhile, it’s unclear whether schools will continue to embrace their expanded mission after federal pandemic funds expire in March 2026. That’s when the last payments to contractors and outside organizations for services rendered can be made. Contracts must be signed by September 2024.

Edunomics’s Roza thinks many of these community services will be the first to go as schools face future budget cuts. But she also predicts that some will endure as schools raise money from state governments and philanthropies to continue popular programs.

If that happens, it will be an example of another unexpected consequence of the pandemic. Even as pundits decry how the pandemic has eroded support for public education, it may have profoundly transformed the role of schools and made them even more vital.

This story about wraparound services was written by Jill Barshay and produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for the Hechinger newsletter.

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For my last two years of high school, I was homeless. My father gave me the option of sharing our circumstances with teachers, counselors and administrators. I chose to stay silent.

Even at 16, I knew that when people hear the word “homeless,” most do not think of youth or families. However, in Los Angeles County alone, approximately 63,000 minors are homeless. And that number is actually a conservative estimate because families often underreport for reasons that include fear of separation and the stigma of being homeless.

They keep quiet, as did my dad and I.

Related:  Colleges start looking for ways to house and feed their students who are homeless

A recent study from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has received much attention lately, as it showed a significant variance in reported data on students who experience food insecurity. The study called into question the survey methods of a variety of sources, including leading researchers from the Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice at Temple University, founded and led by Sara Goldrick-Rab.

The Hope Center has studied the issue extensively, and its results have been deemed valid by the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

Methodology might not be the cause of the perceived problem of data discrepancies. Rather, researchers are likely stumbling over the tip of a much larger iceberg. Students may be underreporting on issues like hunger and homelessness due to the entrenched social stigma around poverty.

Accurate statistics can’t come from students who often stay quiet about their struggles or who have been socialized to use euphemisms (e.g. “couch-surfing”) in place of circumstances that society would rather gloss over as “starving student years.”

Related: Study: Half or more of community college students struggle to afford food, housing

Taking action means dismantling our own biases and re-examining campus policies and practices that create and perpetuate stigmas and silence among students struggling with food and housing insecurity. Here are four ways to break the cycle of food and housing insecurity on U.S. college campuses:

1. Break down biases to increase access. To promote a healthier campus culture around seeking support for basic needs, campuses should redesign their existing spaces to be more welcoming. A 2018 study at the University of Florida (UF) found only 38 percent of UF students who reported food insecurity used the campus food pantry. Barriers identified by students interviewed included “social stigma” and “self-identity.” Among the study’s recommendations was to “consider a new model of the traditional campus food pantry that reduces concerns of social stigma” to increase the use of pantry services.

[pullquote author=”” description=”” style=”new-pullquote”]Accurate statistics can’t come from students who often stay quiet about their struggles or who have been socialized to use euphemisms (e.g. “couch-surfing”) in place of circumstances that society would rather gloss over as “starving student years.”[/pullquote]

Recently the University of California, Irvine (UCI) opened a Basic Needs Hub, which looks like a small-scale gourmet grocery store. Students at UCI are not only encouraged to take what they need, they are invited to socialize and participate in workshops, relieving self-consciousness and stress among students accessing the Hub. In its first year after opening, from September 2017 to August 2018, the Hub served over 14,000 of UCI’s students and continues to serve up to 750 students per week.

2. Train all campus personnel to assume active roles. To remove the stigma around poverty, campuses need to be proactive. Institutions should provide training, so everyone from chief academic officers to faculty and student affairs personnel are capable of making themselves accessible to students. Goldrick-Rab recommends including a statement on basic needs in course syllabi to acknowledge the challenges that students may face in housing and food insecurity. Such statements should encourage students to notify faculty members or the dean of students if they feel comfortable doing so.

3. Capitalize on cross-sector partnerships. Postsecondary institutions are uniquely positioned to partner with federal and local governments to streamline income and nutritional assistance programs for their students. Some are already taking a lead.

Tacoma Community College in Washington works with the local housing authority to offer housing vouchers for students who are homeless or in danger of losing their homes. In California, students who qualify for the state’s Educational Opportunity Program are now automatically eligible for CalFresh, the state’s nutritional assistance program.

Related: VIDEO: Fighting hunger in the Mississippi Delta

4. Seek opportunities to partner with philanthropies. The bridge from research to practice isn’t always easy to navigate and often requires well-planned communication and additional funding. Campuses should look for opportunities to leverage capital and support from the philanthropic community to address basic needs. For example, in early May, ECMC Foundation issued a Request for Proposal for organizations and institutions seeking to address the basic needs of students.

Collectively, the four recommendations above can contribute to a campus culture that is both welcoming of and responsive to students’ basic needs.

By breaking down biases and mobilizing communities, campuses can foster trust in students struggling with hunger, homelessness and other gaps in basic needs. Accurate information about students’ basic needs comes from more than just survey responses — it starts with empathy in action.

This story on food and housing insecurity on campus was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for our newsletter.

Angela Sanchez is a program officer of College Success at ECMC Foundation, a national postsecondary education funder based in Los Angeles.

The post OPINION: Four ways to break the cycle of food and housing insecurity on campus appeared first on The Hechinger Report.