Weekly Roundup 7/2/2012

Education for Homeless Children and Youths Program: Data Collection Summary
U.S. Department of Education, June 2012

Homeless Students Top 1 Million, U.S. Says, Leaving Advocates 'Horrified'
Saki Knafo and Joy Resmovits, Huffington Post, June 28, 2012

Synopsis: In the 2010-11 school year, over a million homeless children and teens were enrolled in U.S. schools, up 57 percent from 2007.

Takeaway: "Only 52 percent of the homeless students who took standardized tests were deemed to be proficient in reading, and only 51 percent passed math tests. 'It sets you far behind. It's socially and emotionally disruptive,'” said Barbara Duffield, policy director for the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth."

For more, see our reports on "Fixing Urban Schools" (April 27, 2007 - updated June 5, 2012) and "Child Poverty" (Oct. 28, 2011).

-- Marcia Clemmitt, Staff Writer

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A Snitch’s Dilemma
Ted Conover, The New York Times Sunday Magazine, July 1, 2012

Synopsis: This fascinating in-depth report on the life of police informant Alex White is better than any TV police drama – and twice as shocking.

Takeaway: White was making good money helping the police make drug cases, but his life turned upside down when “dirty” cops asked him to help them cover up an illegal shooting.

For background see the CQ Researcher report "Police Misconduct" (April 6, 2012).

-- Thomas J. Colin, Contributing Editor