Here is a spreadsheet that shows the count of homeless students enrolled in unified school districts throughout L.A. County.
LA Co USD Homeless Count 2016-17
Enrollment was measured by counting the number of students enrolled in school on a particular day in October.
The data shown was collected by the California Dept. of Education from the individual districts through the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System and published on the EdData website.
Locally, the most notable and surprising statistic is that Culver City has more homeless students attending its schools than in Santa Monica.
Even though Santa Monica is noted for its large number of homeless and the Santa Monica district may have 60 percent more enrollment than Culver City.
However, Culver City has 92 students (1.34 percent) compared to 76 students (.69 percent) for Santa Monica.
I wonder if any of these local students were included in our latest Culver City homeless count conducted earlier in the year.
The state Dept. of Education defines homelessness as:
- Children and youths sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship or a similar reason.
- Children and youths living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, shelters or awaiting foster care placement.
- 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.
Notes on Spreadsheet
Fifty percent of the unified school districts in L.A. County have less than 1 percent homeless among their student population.
Twelve percent of the school districts have fewer than 10 homeless students.
One in four unified school districts in the County have more than 5 percent homeless among their enrollment.
On average in L.A. County, one in every 30 students are categorized as homeless. But in Norwalk-La Mirada, that number skyrockets to one in every four students.
Locally, the most notable and surprising statistic is that Culver City has more homeless students attending its schools than in Santa Monica.
Even though Santa Monica is noted for its large number of homeless and the Santa Monica district may have 60 percent more enrollment than Culver City.
However, Culver City has 92 students (1.34 percent) compared to 76 students (.69 percent) for Santa Monica.
I wonder if any of these local students were included in our latest Culver City homeless count conducted earlier in the year.
Mr. Laase may be contacted at GMLaase@aol.com