JaJuan Tanniehill jokes with his friend DeShazio Williams during lunch at Norwood Elementary School. JaJuan, 8, is one of more than 3,100 homeless children who attend Birmingham city schools, a number that is growing as the economy weakens.
JaJuan Tanniehill has no desire to skip school. At 8 years old, he'd rather skip going home. The Norwood Elementary School first-grader has no home to go home to. Just a shelter teeming with rough boys and bad smells. And anger. There is always anger. "It's fun at school," JaJuan said. "But at the shelter, it's not too good. I've got to go to bed at 8:30. I don't like the kids. They be trying to fight you, and if you hit$?'em back, their mamas say something." JaJuan, his mother and brother share a small room with another family. "It's terrible," he said. "I wish I had my own room."
JaJuan is one of more than 3,100 homeless children who attend Birmingham city schools. That number represents 12 percent of the system's enrollment. And the number is growing.
School systems nationwide are reporting increases in the number of students driven into homelessness because of foreclosures, evictions and job losses. Even suburban, traditionally middle-class schools are dealing with the painful consequences of a weak economy.Large local systems such as Jefferson County's and Shelby County's mirror that trend, although their total numbers are much smaller than Birmingham's.
In reality, the number of homeless students is probably much higher than the official count, said Jo Hollins, attendance director for the Birmingham school system.
"That's just what's being reported," Hollins said. "But it's very hard to track these kids, and if they don't report being homeless, we can't identify them."
It's especially hard for newly homeless people to classify themselves as homeless, officials say.
"We are very proud people in Alabama," said Mitch Edwards, spokesman for the Alabama Department of Education. "The numbers don't necessarily accurately reflect the entire number of homeless students. People don't want to come out and admit that they're homeless."
Federal law defines the homeless not only as families living in shelters or on the streets, but also in hotels or with other families and relatives.
JaJuan, his mother and his younger brother have been homeless since Jan. 12, when LaWanda Tanniehill decided she could no longer live by candlelight to help JaJuan with his homework, or go from house to house around her neighborhood to bathe her 4-year-old son, Mythias.
After two months without utilities, she threw in the towel, packed up her family's things and checked into a downtown homeless shelter run by the Salvation Army. She and her boys share a room barely big enough for the four twin beds and the crib that line the wall.
The low fluorescent lighting shines on bare floors. Three of the mattresses have no sheets.
A mother and young daughter share the Tanniehills' room and tiny bathroom.
The Tanniehills' struggles over the past couple of years have been tough on JaJuan.
"It affected JaJuan in school, and he was real angry. He was lashing out at everybody," his mother said. "Last year, his grades were terrible."
Educators and social workers say children sometimes have a hard time keeping up academically when they are going through so much emotionally.
JaJuan failed first grade at Minor Elementary and is now repeating it at Norwood Elementary in Birmingham, where his improved grades have landed him on the honor roll.
Numbers on increase
A recent report released by the National Center of Family Homelessness says one of every 50 American children experiences homelessness. The report analyzes data from the 2005-06 school year.
It estimates that 1.5 million children experienced homelessness at least once that year, and says the problem is almost certainly worse now because of the foreclosures and job losses of the deepening recession.
Area school systems can vouch for that.
Birmingham has by far the largest number of homeless students, in part because most of the area's shelters are in the city limits. Birmingham also is a large urban system with a historically high level of poverty.
But other school systems also are reporting increases.
In Jefferson County schools, 182 students are identified as homeless this year, up from 160 last year, said Linda Hurt, social worker and homeless liaison for Jefferson County schools.
In Shelby County, 358 homeless children are on the roster, up from 305 at this time last year.
Birmingham identified only 52 students as homeless last year, but didn't have a proper tracking system in place, Hollins said. This year, she has a new tracking system and is working to identify all the homeless students. "I'd say our number is probably closer to 5,000."
While the state doesn't yet have a statewide count of homeless children for this school year, the number increased last year.
In 2007-08, Alabama had 11,687 students identified as homeless, a 7 percent increase from 10,907 in 2006-07.
"I've received calls from districts who don't normally deal with this," said Beth Thompson, state education specialist for federal programs. "Most say they didn't have this many last year."
No power, no help
Tanniehill's financial situation started on a downward spiral when her father was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. She was going to school to get her GED but dropped out to take care of him.
"I wasn't going to let him go to a nursing home."
When he died in 2007, Tanniehill took it hard because "he was my help financially, emotionally and physically."
Her mother remarried, but her stepfather died unexpectedly in November, leaving her mother nearly destitute as well.
Utility and medical bills started piling up. Eventually, the power was cut off. Then the water.
"We went a couple of months without power. We were going back and forth to different homes taking baths and just lighting candles," Tanniehill said. "I got tired. It was getting cold and I couldn't afford to buy kerosene."
The Salvation Army has helped Tanniehill re-enroll to receive her GED, which she hopes to have in four to five months. Afterward, she plans to go to school to become a certified nurse's assistant.
Meanwhile, she is looking for a job but says the economy has made it difficult.
"My goal is to stay here until I find a job and find some housing, and until I get into a comfortable situation," she said. "My kids keep me focused. I have to keep that positive attitude because if I see it negatively, they will see it negatively."
Tanniehill has her moments. She tries to hide them from JaJuan and Mythias.
While federal law requires that public schools offer an education to all students, regardless of their housing situation, it takes a great deal of heart to deal with these kids, officials say.
"We have a lot of donors like churches and businesses, who give us things like school supplies, backpacks, care packages and even Christmas presents during the holiday season," said Errol Watts, principal at Norwood Elementary.
The Birmingham Board of Education receives donations for school uniforms and gives them, free, to any students who can't afford them. The uniform itself is a great equalizer.
"Having a dress code in Birmingham has helped a lot," Watts said. "It cuts down on arguments and teasing about what kind of clothes you're wearing."
Norwood, like other schools, also has a clothing bank with extra jackets, shirts and pants. "People donate things right out of their heart," Watts said.
JaJuan's day
JaJuan's day begins at 5:30 a.m., when he gets up for school.
His mother rides to school with him each morning, a heartbroken look on her face as she sees JaJuan's classmates watch him get off the Salvation Army bus.
But once inside the school, JaJuan blends right in.
His best friend, DeShazio Williams, high-fives him as he walks into class. The two cut up until the teacher clears her throat, waiting for students to take their seats.
"My favorite subject is math," JaJuan says. "I want to be an FBI agent when I grow up."
He also loves to read, and is among the first in his class to complete his reading and vocabulary assignments.
"When he came in, he was so enthusiastic about learning," said Lisa Mobley, JaJuan's first-grade teacher. "I didn't even realize he was in a homeless situation."
At lunchtime, JaJuan heads directly to the end of the table, where apparently no girls are allowed.
"I don't have a girlfriend," he explains quickly, then starts talking to DeShazio about "Lollipop," his favorite Lil' Wayne song. Moments later, he's talking about the mall and his second favorite hangout, the skating rink.
While in school, JaJuan is a normal 8-year-old -- tons of energy, lots of friends and very bright.
But his mood changes once he gets back to the shelter. There, he complains of a headache. His mother said JaJuan has been diagnosed with migraines, and they seem to be getting more frequent. He lies down for an hour before it's time to do homework.
Tanniehill reviews his math worksheet as he completes the answers. Next, with his head in his mother's lap, JaJuan begins reading his library book aloud.
His mother strokes his head, but by the time JaJuan gets to the dining hall, he doesn't feel like eating. He lays his head down on the table and fights the tears away.
JaJuan has little interaction with other children and clings to his mom at the shelter. Although he is a chatterbox at school, he remains quiet when he gets home, speaking mostly to his mother and brother.
"I hate to see him like this," Tanniehill said. "His whole personality changes when he gets home from school. He's even told me he wished he was dead."
Tanniehill said she wants her children to have opportunities in life she didn't take advantage of and hopes the living situation doesn't affect them permanently.
"I just want us to be able to live and live comfortably, and be happy. I want them to grow up and go to college," she said. "I sit down and teach them the difference between right and wrong. It's not easy out here. I want them to stay in school and go to college and have a better life than me. I want them to do better than I did."
email: mleech@bhamnews.com