2020 Symposium Industry Report: Growing Up & Out of Poverty

The educators were asked about the types of housing-related challenges most negatively impacting academic performance. Of the possible options, homelessness was selected by 61 percent of educators, but lack of access to utilities and frequent moves were both identified as top concerns (see Figure 7). Housing quality was a higher concern for both urban (40%) and rural (43%) educators, as compared to suburban educators (28%).

Percent of educators surveyed selecting in top 3

FIGURE 7: Types of housing related challenges most negatively impacting students’ academic performance (select up to 3)

URBANICITY

TOTAL

Urban

Suburban

Rural

Homelessness

61%

60%

62%

61%

Lack of access to basic utilities, such as electricity or heat

47%

46%

50%

46%

Frequent moves

46%

44%

44%

53%

Poor housing quality, such as mold or pest infestation

37%

40%

28%

43%

Overcrowded living conditions

30%

33%

27%

28%

Student’s family cannot pay housing costs

27%

30%

29%

20%

Evictions

21%

23%

19%

20%

Other

1%

0%

1%

1%

Nearly 1 in 3 (32%) urban educators indicated that neighborhood resources have a “significant” impact on academic performance, compared to only 15 percent among suburban and rural educators (see Figure 8).

Percent of educators surveyed

FIGURE 8: Impact of neighborhood resources on academic performance

URBANICITY

TOTAL

Urban

Suburban

Rural

Significant impact

22%

32%

15%

15%

Moderate impact

47%

44%

51%

47%

Slight impact

28%

22%

31%

35%

No impact

3%

2%

3%

3%

Significant or moderate impact (net)

69%

76%

66%

72%

12 Growing Up & Out of Poverty | The NHP Foundation & Enterprise Community Partners

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