Poverty In Vermont And How It’s

Affecting Students In School

“Does poverty affect a student’s performance in school?” Yes, poverty does affect students

overall performance in school. Students do not have the same access to computers, extra help at

Annie Dennis
CCV Intro to Political Science
Spring 2019
Thesis Paper
home or even cannot focus in school. Students are typically hungrier, sleepier and more stressed.

They may not have heat, A/C or a running water at home. Students may not have support, or role

models. Students will deal with physical, mental and emotional struggles.

Annie Dennis
CCV Intro to Political Science
Spring 2019
Thesis Paper
 What is poverty? "Poverty is hunger. Poverty is lack of shelter. Poverty is being sick and not

being able to see a doctor. Poverty is not having access to school and not knowing how to read.

Poverty is not having a job, is fear for the future, living one day at a time. Poverty is losing a child to

illness brought about by unclean water. Poverty is powerlessness, lack of representation and

freedom." (Releasing children from poverty Compassion in Jesus name) If a student is experiencing

one or more of these issues, this can majorly affect a student’s overall attitude and efforts throughout

the day. Students will often spend more time worrying about what they will eat, where they will

sleep, or dealing with being very ill. Many families suffer with some type of poverty, and it is not

always obvious. Lots of times students try to hide what is going on in their private life because they

are afraid of being bullied. Poverty is also not having their basic needs met for school like binders,

pencils, a backpack, or even a lunch for the day. Poverty does not just affect you within your home, it

affects you wherever you go. The graph to the right shows the percentages of low income families

categorized by age in the United States. The red bars show the percentage of low income families and

the blue bars show the percentage or poor families. (Addy, 2011)

Annie Dennis
CCV Intro to Political Science
Spring 2019
Thesis Paper
 Pictured to the right is Scott Blood, Co-Principle of Blue Mountain Union School defines

poverty as “when people do not have the resources to support their general needs typically due to a

lack of income” (Personal Interview, 5/8/2019). When asked “in your opinion how does poverty

affect kids overall in school?” he responded; it affects each kid “differently, some kids present with

more of an obvious tone than others. Some live in poverty and don’t know any different when they

are young, so you would not necessarily suspect it. Sometimes kids recognize that they do not have

the same resources as their peers and that becomes a challenging perspective in their life.” How can

adults help a kid who lives in poverty? Adults can help by making sure all the opportunities that they

give are equitable. The teachers need to be empathetic and make sure that all of their

assignments/tasks and learning opportunities are accessible to all students. Not all teachers realize

that students are living in poverty. They do not realize the certain students who do not have access to

computers, or internet or even lights. (Staff Directory, BMU School)

Mr. Blood used to teach middle school math. While teaching he would give homework

assignments that needed to be completed at night. He had noticed that there was one student who was

not getting his homework completed at night. Mr. Blood decided to investigate what was going on.

He went to the Guidance Counselor and ended up finding out that this student had no electricity at

home. This meant that the student had no light to see to complete the assigned homework. He was

especially worried about winter time because it gets dark earlier. Mr. Blood decided to shift his

homework so that all critical learning assignments were done in class vs being taken home. Mr.

Blood found out that the parents were not comfortable sharing with him the situation they were in.

Recently, BMU has implemented an afterschool program to help the parents who cannot find

a babysitter or cannot get out of work by the time school is out. Parents can pay to have their students

attend this program where the students will get a snack, extra learning help, and time to do structured

Annie Dennis
CCV Intro to Political Science
Spring 2019
Thesis Paper
activities outside or in the gym. BMU also had implemented an after school bus that allows students

to stay after school for extra help. The bus drops off students at central locations around 3:30. There

is a new backpack program in the works where every Friday there is a bag of canned goods for kids

in need. Coming

soon is the “bucks

boutique” where kids

can exchange clothes

and have better

access to new clothes

their size. These

equity initiatives

have helped make

sure students have

access to the

resources and help they need. Pictured to the right is a graph that shows the percent of children in

Vermont who live in poverty, organized by county. According to the graph, Essex has the highest

poverty rate with 22% while Chittenden has the lowest with 10%. This data was collected in 2015

(Heintz,2017).

The state of Vermont has tried to decrease the percentage of poverty(cut in half), but has

failed. Jim Douglas was the person who first established this council in 2007 with the goal to make

this cut happen by June 30, 2017. The members of the Vermont Child Poverty Council, decided to

start traveling around the State of Vermont, visiting all 14 counties. They would put on events for the

low income families in the schools gymnasiums, libraries and cafeterias. They had asked poor

Annie Dennis
CCV Intro to Political Science
Spring 2019
Thesis Paper
families who had overcome their poverty struggle to share their stories to help inspire other families.

Cathy Duncan, a 45 year old single mother of three shared her story. Duncan had went back to school

where she then got a steady job and was able to purchase a house in Johnson. At a panel in

Morristown Elementary School, Duncan stated “I am one of the successes, but when I live paycheck

to paycheck and sometimes it doesn’t make it, doesn’t pay all the bills, I don’t feel much like a

success”. When Vermont’s goal had approached within the next 10 years they were far from

reaching their goal. (Heintz, 2017)

Annie Dennis
CCV Intro to Political Science
Spring 2019
Thesis Paper
 According to the United States Census Bureau in 2007, “15,907 Vermont children or 12.4

percent, were living below the federal poverty line”. In 2015, when the most recent data was

available it showed that poverty had decreased a little bit and was now at “15,469, but the rate had

increased to 13.3 percent”. After all the counties had been visited there was still no progress made,

as the United States had reached a financial crisis. This crisis had caused the poverty rate to go from

18 percent (in 2007) to 22.6

percent (in 2012) which left

many parents jobless and

causing more children to suffer.

The graph shows to the right

shows the unemployment rate

of parents who have children

under the age of 18. This graph

is organized by sex. The blue

bar represents any marital

status, the green bar represents married with a spouse present and the pink bar represents other

marital status. The unemployment rate is greatest for those who have other marital statuses. The

lowest employment rate is those who have any marital status at all. (Heintz, 2017)

Duncan had lost her home in 2014. This same year she had been taken out of work due to a

disability. She is now 55 and suffering with diabetes and arthritis, and trying to live off $933 a month

(Social Security disability). Of the $933, $825 of it goes towards her rent. She needs to rely on her

nephew to bring her once a month to the grocery store because she could no longer afford her car

payments. (Heintz, 2017) Duncan states “Life’s been throwing punches that I just can’t seem to

Annie Dennis
CCV Intro to Political Science
Spring 2019
Thesis Paper
dodge Duncan lives neary her old home which was foreclosed on her and goes by it often. She

cannot seem to get all of the losses she has struggles with. “You drive by and see it and think: How

come?” “But it is what it is.” Her kids are now 20,22, and 24 and she hopes that they can escape the

poverty that she couldn’t. Only one kid went to college, but only last one year there. (Heintz, 2017)

It is crucially important that schools have a strong support system in and out of school. If

teachers and staff recognize earlier which students need more help, they can lend a hand sooner and

help the child before other students recognize. One major effect that poverty has on students is

causing them to drop out and not continue their education. They end up choosing a low paying job.

These students don’t have the opportunities other students have such as; going on family vacations,

going out to eat, watching tv, going to the movies, or even the opportunity to go to college. A lot of

families will struggle trying to pay college and typically students end up not going. (Teaching

Community Where Teachers Live And Learn)

Each individual depending on age and strength will be affected differently emotionally,

mentally and physically. Every individual has their own personal way of dealing with problems that

occur. Each individual also has a better way of hiding and showing the pain they are going through.

While some students want to talk about what’s going and show their struggle, others don’t want to

make it known their struggling and don’t want to talk about it. The younger weaker students who

cannot eat and are sick will become even weaker and struggle a lot more than those who have a better

immune system as well as one who is stronger and older. They can feel stress and or anxiety that

could even come across as a headache or nausea. This can cause a lot of stress and even lead to

mental illnesses.

Mentally, students each have different coping mechanisms. Some students will be mentally

unable to focus on schoolwork, or any basic task given. They will be emotional and constantly

Annie Dennis
CCV Intro to Political Science
Spring 2019
Thesis Paper
having worry at the back of their minds. Students may get less sleep at night, causing them to

struggle to pay attention in class. The image to the right shows the grades students receive. It is

comparing students with poverty and without. The red bar shows the students grades who are less

than 50% in poverty. While the blue bar shows students grades who are 50% or more with poverty.

This chart shows that the students with 50% or more poverty struggle a lot more in school and

typically receive C’s, D’s and F’s. Depending on age, each student suffers differently with poverty.

The younger the child the less likely they will realize they are less fortunate than others. While older

children are more likely to realize that they do not have the same resources as others. Realizing that

they are less fortunate and do not have access to the same things as others can cause students to

become depressed. (Henkel, 2015)

At home, children need not only food and water but also support. Children need to start

learning how to read and write at a young age. Not all families can afford to provide books and other

learning materials to

start teaching their

children at a young

age. Children need a

stable home life.

They cannot be

moved from home to

home constantly or

living in a car every

other night. They

need a comfortable

Annie Dennis
CCV Intro to Political Science
Spring 2019
Thesis Paper
place to sleep at night so that they can get the proper sleep needed to be awake and alert throughout

the day. Children need a place to feel safe and comfortable. Students at a young age need markers

and crayons and they need to be able to color and use their creativity. As a parent, your child looks up

to you the most. What you do influences them. If they see yo giving up, they will think it’s okay to

do the same. Children need positive role models to teach them proper edicate for home, school and

out in public. (Kim, 2008)

At school children need a strong type of a support system. They need to feel safe at school.

They need equal access to learning opportunities and field trips. Students need help paying for

lunch(free/reduced lunch program).The image to the left shows what goes on with students minds

during the day. Students worry about how they will look with not wearing the best sports shoes, or

how they haven't had the

resources at home to make them

one of the best players. Students

will be bullied because they aren’t

“up to date” on the newest

fashion. Students may not have a

place to do homework or the

resources. Student’s will feel

worthless, hopeless and they will

not have the same opportunities as

other students. The student’s will

worry about their parents and the home life situations. Therefore, it is hard for children to focus in

school with all of this on their mind. (Child Poverty Action Groups)

Annie Dennis
CCV Intro to Political Science
Spring 2019
Thesis Paper
 “How Does Poverty Affect a Students Performance in School?” It affects the students grades.

It affects students mentally, physically, and emotionally. Students will not be as healthy. Students

will struggle concentrating in school. Poverty affects the students overall education. Those who live

with this struggle won’t view college as a possibility and even tend to drop out in high school. In my

personal opinion, I think that there is too much poverty in the world, especially in Vermont. I feel

better about poverty here at BMU knowing that the school and the staff are doing their best to ensure

that the students can have access to books, supplies, computers, extra help, clothes and food. One

thing I am very appreciative of is how BMU Student Council does the thanksgiving baskets. These

baskets include items like stuffing, a turkey, potatoes, bread and much more for a successful

thanksgiving meal. Student Council members then make homemade pies to add to these baskets. I am

thankful for the supportive community we have here at BMU, I am hopeful that other schools around

the World have these supportful opportunities that we have here.

Annie Dennis
CCV Intro to Political Science
Spring 2019
Thesis Paper
Works Cited:

- “Also of Interest.” NCCP, 29 Jan. 2013, www.nccp.org/publications/pub_1074.html.

- Binkovitz, Leah, and Mihir Zaveri. “With 60 Percent Of Public School

- Blohm, Craig e. The 1960's the Great Society: the War on Poverty.

- “Child Poverty Action Group.” The Impact of Poverty | Child Poverty Action Group,
cpag.org.uk/content/impact-poverty.

- Erlauer, Laura. Brain-Compatable Classroom.

- Henkel, Clayton. “Latest School Performance Grades Released, High-Poverty

Schools Receive Lowest Grades.” The Progressive Pulse, 2 Sept.
2015,pulse.ncpolicywatch.org/2015/09/02/latest-school-performance-grades-
released-high-poverty-schools-receive-lowest-grades/.

- Jensen, Eric. Brain Compatable Strategies.

- Kim, Christine. “Academic Success Begins at Home: How Children Can Succeed in
School.” The Heritage Foundation, www.heritage.org/education/report/academic-
success-begins-home-how-children-can-succeed-school.

- Personal Interview, Blood, 5/8/2019

- "Poverty and School." School Administrator, Feb. 2019, p. 45. General OneFile,

- https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A581024751/GPS?
u=vol_portal&sid=GPS&xid=c363f6cf. Accessed 3 May 2019.

- “Staff Directory.” Staff Directory,

www.bmuschool.org//site/default.aspx?
PageType=2&PageModuleInstanceID=241&ViewID=d23c305b-e295-4186-9257-
b05a61f233d9&RenderLoc=0&FlexDataID=0&Filter=StaffFullName:scott blood.

- Students In Or Near Poverty, Texas Seeks Answers.” Texas Public Radio,

www.tpr.org/post/60-percent-public-school-students-or-near-poverty-texas-seeks-
answers.

- “Tackle Poverty's Effects to Improve School Performance.” Georgia Budget and

Policy Institute, 5 Dec. 2017, gbpi.org/2017/tackle-povertys-effects-improve-school-
Annie Dennis
CCV Intro to Political Science
Spring 2019
Thesis Paper
 performance/.
- “Unemployment of Parents with Children under 18.” U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 15 July 2003,
www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2003/jul/wk2/art02.htm?view_full.

- “What You Can Do for Students Living in Poverty.” Teaching,

teaching.monster.com/counselors/articles/8164-what-you-can-do-for-students-living-
in-poverty.

Annie Dennis
CCV Intro to Political Science
Spring 2019
Thesis Paper