Russell County Schools recently received a grant to assist with homeless students in the district.
Russell County Schools Superintendent Michael Ford told WJRS News the district received a grant for just over $72,000 through the American Rescue Plan.
The grant funds will provide an additional teacher at Russell County Middle School, the school that has the highest concentration of homeless students according to district data.
In total, the district reported 172 students classified as homeless last school year. The previous school year, 239 students in the district were reported as homeless.
The reporting criteria defines homeless children and youths as individuals who lack a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence. The term includes –
• Children and youths who are:
o sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or
a similar reason (sometimes referred to as doubled-up);
o living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of
alternative adequate accommodations;
o living in emergency or transitional shelters; or abandoned in hospitals;
• Children and youths who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings;
• Children and youths who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings;
• Migratory children who qualify as homeless because they are living in circumstances described above.
