MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - Student homelessness is proving to be a growing issue in Dane County.

According to Wisconsin Policy Forum, the number of students in Wisconsin’s public schools who identified as homeless increased to more than 20,000 during the 2023-24 school year.

Clothing, school supplies and personal hygiene items fill the shelves of the Madison Metropolitan School District’s donation closet.

“This donation center is completely 100 percent donated and volunteer,” said Jani Koester, MMSD’s Transition Education Program (TEP) Resource Teacher.

Koester has worked in the position at MMSD for 36 years.

“(It) looks differently every year,” she said.

At MMSD, Koester makes sure every student without a home has access to an education.

“Anything that might be a barrier for them to pa

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