Student Snapshot

Stephan is seven years old. His uniform is always wrinkled and missing parts. He has a sense of humor that shouldn't come so naturally to a second grader, but somehow he is almost always smiling. Almost-unless he is hungry.

You see, Stephan is one of the children that society hides so well. Living within the red lines of West Philadelphia, he is non-existent to the outside world. His father, for the most part, is out of the picture. His mother works around the clock, even with her extreme case of sickle cell anemia. This schedule (that some would call neglect, though his mother has no ill intent) leaves his nine-year-old sister as the head of the household. She makes dinner when there is money for dinner, which is not often enough. Mostly, Stephan and his sister rely on the free breakfast and lunch at school.

However, this week Stephan and his sister did not come to school for three days. Ms. A (my partner-in-crime who shares our half of a classroom) called home to find out about their absences. All of the numbers we have for his mother were disconnected, and his father did not answer. The only person left to call was his paternal grandmother, who was confused about which Stephan Ms. A was talking about. (Apparently, Stephan's father-also named Stephan-has named all of his sons after himself.)

Once things were straightened out, the truth was revealed-Stephan and his sister had not been to school because their mother is in the hospital. With no adults home and no money for public transportation, the pair was physically and financially unable to make it to school.

Yes, even the School District of Philadelphia's policies seem to overlook children like Stephan. In an effort to cut funds, the SDP decided to change who qualified for bus service. Instead of living 8 blocks (1 mile) from school, children are now required to live at least 12 blocks (1.5 miles) from school. And since Stephan and his sister live only 11 blocks, they do not qualify for free bus service.

Two burning questions come to mind: 1) How have Stephan and his sister been able to eat for the past several days? and 2) Exactly how long will we allow these children to be invisible?