It was 4 a.m., time for Latoya Iheanacho to gear up to take her children to school.
On many mornings last year, that was her routine as she bounced between homeless shelters in the Bronx and Queens with her son and two daughters. The trek to their New York City public school, by bus and two trains, sometimes took two hours. Ms. Iheanacho left her job in mental health care so that she could accompany them.
They often returned after dusk to mice-infested rooms. One of her girls entered puberty early, which doctors suggested could be a symptom of family stress. All of the children were falling behind in their classes.
“They didn’t even have energy to do homework,” Ms. Iheanacho said. “They were tired and hungry.”
“It was just constantly survival mode,” she added.
Their story illustrates how America’s affordable housing crisis has contributed to its worsening education crisis. The Iheanacho children were among the more than 1.3 million students in the United States identified as homeless, according to the most recent data, a figure that is widely considered to be a significant undercount.
Some go to bed in shelters or in cramped, overcrowded apartments. Others sleep in hotels, cars and other spots that are the last resort for people who are transient. They are all considered homeless under federal education law.
Their population has soared during the past decade, underscoring the urgent need to build housing. In Los Angeles, the growing number of children who lack adequate housing is fueling a surge in chronic absenteeism. In Syracuse, N.Y., skyrocketing rents have left record numbers of children without a home.
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