Supporting Students in Poverty

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Why it works

Poverty is associated with barriers to learning, less access to materials and experiences, higher stress, food and housing insecurity, but it does not determine a student's ability or potential, and research warns against deficit frameworks that stereotype students in poverty. What helps is removing the concrete barriers teachers control, maintaining high expectations, building relationships, and connecting families to resources, rather than lowering the bar or assuming limitations.

The research: Research on poverty and education; critiques of deficit frameworks.

The run-of-show

Choose your slot. The agenda, timings, and length update to match.

The core activity: remove barriers, keep expectations high

Teachers leave having identified barriers to remove and checked their own assumptions.

Identify hidden costs and access barriers in your class (supplies, fees, materials, experiences) and plan to remove them.
Be aware of basic needs and know how to connect families to resources.
Check your own assumptions for deficit thinking or stereotypes.
Keep expectations high and build relationships.

Remove barriers, not expectationsPoverty is a barrier, not a limit on ability. Remove the concrete barriers you control, hold the bar high, and build relationships, without deficit assumptions.

Facilitator notes

Remove concrete barriers, and keep expectations high.
Build relationships, and connect families to resources.
Avoid deficit frameworks and stereotypes.

Avoid deficit thinking and stereotypesAssuming students in poverty lack ability, values, or potential does real harm, and some popular frameworks reinforce this. Focus on barriers and assets, not stereotypes.

Adapt it

Elementary: supplies, basic-needs awareness, relationships.
Secondary: hidden costs, access, high expectations.
All settings: remove barriers, high expectations, no stereotypes.

Participant handout

One page for every teacher. Print it, or save it as a PDF.

K12 Academics · Professional Learning

Supporting Students in Poverty: barriers, not limits

Remove barriers, hold the bar: hidden costs, access, basic-needs awareness, relationships, and no deficit assumptions.

Hidden costs and access barriers to remove:
How I am aware of basic needs and connect families to resources:
The assumptions I will check for deficit thinking:
How I keep expectations high:
How I build relationships:

Make it stick

Barriers, not limits:

Remove barriers; keep expectations high.
Check assumptions.
Bring a barrier you removed to the next PLC.

Common questions

Doesn't poverty mean I should expect less?

No. Poverty creates barriers, not low ability. Lowering expectations harms students; removing barriers and holding high expectations helps them.

Isn't there a framework that explains the culture of poverty?

Be cautious. Some popular frameworks have been criticized for stereotyping students in poverty. Focus on concrete barriers and assets, not assumptions about a group.

What can I actually do?

Remove hidden costs, ensure access to materials, be aware of basic needs and connect families to resources, build relationships, and keep expectations high.