Every empty school desk hides a housing story we fail to track

Limited data on the relationship between housing and school attendance

For our young people to make it to school regularly and to have positive educational outcomes, it is imperative that their needs are met outside the classroom. A fundamental need is stable housing.    

There is currently no consistent data collected on students’ housing situations when they are absent from school. This limits our ability to understand the relationship between housing instability and school attendance.

Strengthening data collection in this area would support a better understanding of the barriers to educational attainment, and help inform more effective responses across systems.

Data source: OIA decline, no data held by Ministry of Education