Transcripts For ALJAZAM Inside Story 20150502

For reduced price lunches. A little more than a million nationwide. Today on inside story well look at that finding with the studies author, talk to teachers about what it means to work with a student body burdened with poverty does it change how you teach and run a school. And later well be joined by jacob ward, taking ugs inside the kids heads. How does prolonged poverty affect the brain of a youngster. We have a new time, and as you can see a new home. Poverty, its the inside story. The burden of poverty on states, students, School Systems doesnt land everywhere pt same way. Take a look at this map from the Southern Education foundations findings. There are 21 states shown in red where the percentage of Public Schoolchildren in poverty is above 50 . The numbers come from the National Centre for education statistics. They came up with the numbers by tracking which students were eligible for free or reduced fried school lunches. Well dig into that later in the programme. As you can see, 13 out of 21 states are in the south. Mississippi has the highest level of Public Schoolchildren living in poverty 71 . 6 of the 21 states are in the west. New mexico had the second highest level of students in the country, 68 in 2013. New mexico is where we begin the conversation tonight. Joining me from albuquerque is sonya, a teacher from an Elementary School. Welcome to inside story. Great to have you with us. Thank you for having me. Lets start at the beginning of the day. 25 kids file into the classroom at 8 45 in the morning. What is different about a classroom where most of those kids are poor . Well, when those kids come in, the first thing i do is do a quick assessment of the immediate needs. Some of those children are homeless or come from homes with trauma, my job is to make them feel welcome. The first thing i do is ask if they have eaten breakfast. If they havent. I make sure they get breakfast. We have a free breakfast programme. If they are a little late for school, i have snacks ready for them. I do is quick safety of how they look do they need a jacket, clean soccer, do the pants fit. If they are tired i get out a mat so they can rest. There are times our day doesnt start for a while, until i assess the needs of those highrisk students. But we are in a time in American Education where School Systems are laying on all kind of new requirement, tests and targets that have to be taken and reached. Is it tough to do that when you are also doing all these other things, which we dont think of job. Youre right. Its a lot harder. Its become a lot harder over the years to fill the demands of a teacher. I mean, when my students come in, i have to take care of social needs. If the social and emotional needs are not met, they are not ready to learn. If they are not ready to learn, they are wasting their time. Thats not fair, its not the point of Public Education. Its difficult to get everything that. Are a lot of kids unwilling to share with you how bad off they are . No, that hasnt been my experience, because we do create a real environment of safety and trust. The way i look at it, that is 6. 5 hours of a day where its supposed to be a safe place. And we, as a mindset and as a School Culture create the environment first and foremost for the kids. We have a really good rapport with the students. Is it different managing the classroom, moving ahead in the syllabus, doing the basic work that you have to do to get the kids to advance, to be ready to advance to the next grade . Absolutely. And i have to continuously balance that in my head of the needs that they have, and the demands. I have been teaching for almost 19 years now, and im well aware of what it is that kids need to learn. They need an opportunity to grow socially, emotionally, and academically. For me its a balance i have to justify, not only with the district around me, but the policies, the laws, everything to show that my kids are learning, but only after i have been able to give them what they need to fulfil the other needs that are more important because they foster and create an opportunity for them to learn. As far as what is called social capital, are the kids in a different location. Can you contrast this to what its like to teach in a classroom, in a school that is poverty. I always chose to teach in title 1 schools, this is my experience, this is what i know. I think my kids are at a disadvantage because of their access to opportunity. Access to what they deserve. As a society, every child has the right to a great Public Education, and, unfortunately, my students and the students i have taught these years, that is their experience. Its unfortunate. When we move to things like no child left behind, and adequate yearly progress, where classrooms and schools have to reach certain numerical goals, are the kids simply at a handicap in the competition with other kids in the district, other states, other parts of the country . Absolutely. I have two foster children that are homeless in my class. To deal with the needs outside of a class is something knew to me. To have an idea what its like to go home with children who were homeless, and to be able to fill the needs and take them to a school and see what the teachers are trying to do for and with them, trying to meet the demands is incredibly difficult. I know how i experienced it with my children, but to see what my foster girls teachers go through, its unfair to those teachers, its unfair to the students. Its unfair to our system. Are other teachers in your school doing pretty much the same thing you described with nutritional needs, clothing, sanitation need. Is this, in fact, a system of social services in addition to math and reading . Absolutely. There isnt a teacher at my school that wouldnt do anything and everything. Not just at my school. In my district as a whole. Theres so many teachers aparting forward their own time and money to the point of missing events with their own families to give to the children that need us. Thank you for being with us. Of course, thank you for having me. I appreciate the opportunity. Sonya, teaching in the Albuquerque Public School system. Later on inside story, we tell you how poverty damages Brain Development with science correspondent jake ward, and where is poverty growing among students. What are the consequences for the kids and the schools they attend. Stay with us. Its nds reason. Its inside story. Every day is another chance to be strong. I cant get bent down because my familys lookin at me. To rise, to fight and to not give up. Youre gonna go to school so you dont have to go war. Hard earned pride. Hard earned respect. Hard earned future. We can not afford for one of us to lose a job. Were just a family thats trying to make it. A real look at the american dream. Hard earned. Premiers tomorrow, 10 00 eastern. Only on Al Jazeera America. Part of our month long look at working in america. Hard earned. Welcome back to inside story on Al Jazeera America im ray suarez. This time on the programme we are taking a closer look at a stunning development. More than half of the Public Schoolchildren in america live in poverty. Under or close to the federal definition for being poor. A percentage of low income students in Public Schools has been rising over time. Take a look at the figures. In 1989, 32 of Public School students were low income. A little more than 10 years later its up to 38 , and climbs to 42 in 2006, to 48 in 2011, and stood at 51 by 2013. Joining us now to company our look at poverty in american schools, kept maguire, president and c. E. O. Of the Southern Education foundation, and ingrid, a principal of Patrick Henry Elementary School in alexandria virginia. Mr maguire, let me start with you. The numbers are a little shocking, only because they so overstate the number of americans living in poverty, and the number of children living in poverty, why is the number of Public Schoolchildren so much higher than the other figures . Ray i think the answers has do with the changing demographics in the country. The other kid that are in and will be in the Public Schools for the foreseeable future. Does Public Education concentrate poor kids. Is that number risen, in fact by the possibility of more middle class and upper class kids not using the system around the country . I think that weve had a complicated story about Public Schools leading scam to try to leave, but what is concentrated in the schools is where they live have you seen this in your years of Public Schooling that the population in a School Building is going up, and the rising. Absolutely. In the school where i am currently we increased from 74 years. Is that the trend in the economy or is it likely to be the friends in the way americans end up living in one place, rather than another. Trends in the way Residential School . I think it has to do with the economy. I have an awful lot of parents who lost their jobs, who were employed when i first became prince pa two, three years ago, now i see parents who lost their job. They dont know where to go to. They are moving in with other folks. We have some children that live with two to three other families, its a sign of the time at these tiles. As a principal, are you under requirements to hit targets, metrics by certain times by kids in third grade, fourth grade, fifth grade. Are you juggling those burred inns with the burden of keeping kids with respect nourished, clean, clothes that fit their feet, legs. I think its important as a leader of a school for me to focus on the metrics that i have to reach, and the bench marks that we have to reach to meet state standards. However, what i found is children will never reach those standards if we dont take care of them first from a Socio Economic side. That requires us to feed them. If a child is hungry, no matter how wonderful the teacher is teaching, they will not learn at high levels. If a child does not have socks or underwear or had trauma at home or have not slept. They will not access high levels of education. Do you have a good system for knowing whether those are kind of problems at home. Yes, its about building relationships with the children. We have 85 of children living in poverty. With that said, theres a lot of distrust with people from the outside. Lets say not living in their immediate neighbourhood. When they come to school they have to build relationships, and we start to find out what is happening with them outside. For example, if theres domestic violence, or they are living with grandmother or they have no food at home, or they have they dont get a chance to sleep in a bed, its on the floor. Once we build relationships with them, what we find is ways to help them. Ken maguire, lets take a look at the mat. Its a striking graphic to see the heavy concentration of Southern States and western states where there are schools with so many kids living in poverty. What is it about the way we run Public Schools that is concentrated so many kids in so many parts of the country, are there things that the states have in common that give us this kind of result . Well, i think the states you know, let me start by saying that i have been around the country a lot, showing that map. And it is startling. These are the states with the highest birth rates. They are the states that are growing in population and contrast to the northeast. So, again, the demographic patterns rising immigration, na, in part explains what we see. I think ingrid is right. Economic circumstances have not helped. You put those two things toot. And you see a set of challenges facing Public Education. That they didnt see 20, 30 years before. Why is it important to know, to get the eyepopping statistic, 50 out into peoples eyes and ears around country. Listen, if it used to be we only had to educate really well 20 of the kids. Now we have to educate them all. To the extent that the country is concerned about trying to get increasing College Completion rates, if you dont focus on the happen. Secretary of education arnie duncan talks about poverty, and we found this from a speech at the National Press club, which is as you see the povertyrelated schools crossing the line. We cant use the excuse for educated children at risk and helping them to beat the odds year after year after year. Our children only have one chance to get a great education. They cant wait for poverty to magically disappear. Yet you have to reach adequate yearly progress goals else you lose your job, your school, in some states can be broken up and the children dispersed to different places. That sounds a little like you there. Yes, but its what i was made to do. I actually received as long as i remember. Free assistance. I walked in the shoes of the children. Since i have walked in the shoes of the children. Im equipment to lead a school. If you look at the way we staff school, how we fill them up with children. Decide where they are going to do, what we will pay for we are probably the only country in the world that funds rich kids schools better than poor kids schools, when we know that poor kids have the needs that you describe. Is there anyone that you can dense . Thats all i can do is just do my job. Just prove that children can achieve at high levels when we take away the barriers that gives them access to that. We have to believe in children, we cant determine who they are based upon circumstances. I can only do it by walking the walk and talking the talk. And so when im at school, and we are doing a great job with the children, our scores show that. Someone takes notice and they come and say what are you doing at the school. And we can tell our story. We have the same story that many schools have in the country. Kent maguire, you were going to say. Ingrid is doing what she is supposed to do. That does not mean that policy makers shouldnt appreciate the real opportunity gap that is embedded in the reality that ingrid faces in her school. They are very clear resource attention. If we were to take your map, kent maguire and overlay it with a map of standardized test scores, would we see a lot of commonalties, would we see a lot of, lets see, one to one correlation between the places where a lot of kids are poor, and a lot of kids are not scoring high . If you were in massachusetts, the average expenditure would be per child would be upwards of 13,000 14,000 a student. And the i think grade reading and maths scores are on what is called the National Assessment of educational progress, would be 30 points on average higher than in mississippi. Where theyd spent approximately half as much per student. Free and reduced lunch rates of 70 in mississippi. 34 in massachusetts. I think there is a correlation there that we about. Are the kids aware of their own circumstances, the fact that not every other kid is like this, and that you are trying to help them . No. I want them to understand they are no different to anyone. So the teachers and i we set up the environment so that every child is treated as if they are the best and most wonderful and awesome child in the entire world. So they have no knowledge that they are any different. Everything is tailored for them. Everything we say to them. We dont discriminate, we give them equal access to field trips and experiences that will enrich their lives so they can be the best they can be. Different. Great to have you with us. Thanks for coming buy. Good to talk to you. Still ahead on inside story. Well go a step further. After talking about the challenge of concentrations for children and their schools, well look at the kids at the cellular level. Is being poor having an effect not only socially but physically. Does sustained poverty change the train. Al jazeeras science correspondent jake ward has sobering findings, stay with us, al jazeeras Investigative Unit has tonights exclusive report. Stories that have impact. That make a difference. That open your world. This is what we do. America tonight. Tuesday through friday. 10 00 eastern. Only on Al Jazeera America. Youre watching inside story on Al Jazeera America im luis suarez. We are looking at the implications of new research from the Southern Education foundation that suggests half of all american schoolchildren are poor. We have looked at what high concentrations of poverty in classrooms means for the students, teachers and schools. Does poverty have a fundamental impact. Neurologically al jazeeras science correspondent jake ward joins us. What does the Research Tell Us about that . Well, its really when you look at the sheer number of horos that poverty seems to inflict on children, its hard to know where to begin. The most tangible version of the research that we know affects the brain has to do with how it affects the brain specifically the development of white and grey matter, the hippocampus, some of the most important parts of the brain. One study found that living in deep poverty caused white and grey matter to not grow as fast as it needed to, facilitating communication in the brain. The hippocampus turning short term into long term memories was stunted, and the emigulo all were stunted. It leads researches to cognitive disorders, antisocial behaviour and worse. We are see true tangible effect of living in poverty. When we do the research, are we talking about environmental factors, the places where poor children live, or the nutrition they get for the stimulation that the environment provides. What is it that we are measuring development. In this particular case, what made that study stand out is it was scans of children followed over a long period of time, but didnt take into account environment factors, except they were living in poverty. Results were consistent. When you think about the broader questions nutrition, exposure to trauma, violence, the Ripple Effect of poverty, science is just coming to grips with. A study of maryland area found half living in poverty experienced severe depression, compared to mother among 14 . Instead you have a jump of 35 . That when you have a mum who is depressed, and the center of the family, it ensnares kids into bad stuff. Suddenly mothers are prone to not fastening the seatbelt to not feeding them properly, leading to other stuff. Those kids are ensnared in it. You look at violence. Theres a world of audio Surveillance Systems that tell how many gunshots are going off. We thing of it typically as gunshots when reported to police. Theres probably 80 more gun fire on the streets than we knew about. These students are exposed to a nighttime round of gun fire, more tan an active duty soldiers in afghanistan or iraq. We are talking about a tidal wave of trauma, malnutrition, and it has a physical effect on these children over the course of their lives. Thanks a lot. Thats all for this edition of inside story. We want you to talk about to your television. Visit Facebook Page and give us your feed on what you here on the programme. We invite you to follow us on twitter. Follow me or get in touch at ray suarez news. See us next time in washington. Im ray suarez. Announcer this is al jazeera. Welcome to the newshour im richelle carey. From al jazeeras news center in doha, these are the top stories right now. Rebuilding from the rubble. 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