At-Risk Students Euphemism Needed

"At risk" is not always about money, it sometimes refers to coming from parents who have drug problems and things like that. If you are looking for euphemisms for poor students, maybe "financially challenged"..."not even a desk to study at"....

this is where i get so annoyed at my liberal friends. we've taken being 'nice' to ridiculous lengths, where accurate words are banned because they might hurt somebody's feelings.
how about 'poor'?
khairete
S.

"At risk" implies a lot more than "poor." I don't think you are looking for a euphemism so much as a more accurate descriptor.

What's wrong with socioeconomically or just economically disadvantaged? Or "poor"?

It depends on the circumstances. If you are having a meeting with other professionals to discuss a students needs, I wouldn't mince words. This is when it is most important to be frank. If a student is from a poor family, it's probably best to say that the family has financial challenges.

It would help if you could explain the circumstances in which you would need a euphemism.

I agree that "at-risk" could really mean anything - learning disability, financial challenges, divorced or single parents, parents don't speak English (or whatever language is used at school), physical disability, neurological disorder (like ADHD). You don't want to be vague. It's important to be absolutely clear.

Why do you want a different word? Our answers will be more helpful for suggesting another word. "At risk" has different meanings based on what causes a person being at risk. I suggest that the words without a reason for being at risk is pointless. At risk is a term used by professionals that includes all reasons for the children to need help. I have grandchildren who are at risk for not completing school because they have autism. I have an older grandchild who is at risk for not graduating. I only hear "at risk" alone when people already know why they're considered at risk.

I think any word after "needs help" that describes the reason for needing help would work. Is needs help an euphemism that would work for you or did I miss your point? I suggest it's important to understand what "at risk" means when using a different word.

lower class
disadvantaged
inner city
poverty stricken
under-resourced
underprivileged

Socioeconomic =
relating to or concerned with the interaction of social and economic factors

Students with disadvantages e.g., students with economic disadvantages

The problem with making up new words to replace old because the old words mean the same thing as the word they replaced is it will keep happening. At risk replace disadvantaged which replaced poor. How about we just go back to calling them poor and put an end to this nonsense.

Vulnerable
Economically deprived
Impoverished community

Sorry, but poor is poor is poor. I grew up poor. I knew we were poor. It was patently obvious. I wasn't embarrassed by it; I had nothing to do with our being poor.

Sometimes I think euphemisms are more for the speaker than the person they are addressing. If you are poor, the word 'disadvantaged' does not work wonders. I had advantages (my brain, my tenacity, my work ethic), why would people not just say what they mean instead of trying to work around it and create a bigger, more onerous label? Poor was only one aspect of my person.

In Massachusetts, in MCAS results, certain populations are grouped as "high needs" in terms of assessing whether or not educational goals are serving all populations. High Needs includes students with disabilities, current or former English language learners, and economically disadvantaged.

In MA, economically disadvantaged is defined as: Student's participation in one or more of the following state-administered programs: SNAP (food stamps); TAFDC (welfare); DCF (foster care); MassHealth (Medicaid) in October, March, or June.

So to be consistent with how schools and school administrators should be referring to kids, I would use the term economically disadvantaged.

I just use the terms "inner city kids" or "disadvantaged kids" when referring to them in conversations. Sometimes, I will say "impoverished youths" or "families under the poverty line." Most people know what you're referring to, at that point. Here, "at-risk" implies kids who are at the risk of becoming criminals and ending up in the system, so these would be kids who have no interest in school, have had some run-ins with the law, or whose parents are not involved because they are on drugs or some other substance. To me, that is not the same as kids who come from low-income households but whose parents are working hard to be in their lives and provide, and the kids are good kids, just poor and living in circumstances beyond their control.

"At-risk" is contextual. Low or very low income students can be at-risk for many things. In an educational context they could be at-risk for school failure, for a whole range of factors related to poverty. So instead of a euphemism, maybe you need to get more specific.

I'm curious why you need a euphemism anyway. Depending on how you plan to use this language, you should approach this with some care. I was a grant writer for many years, and it was important to use up to date, current terminology. If I'd used phrases like poor, needy, etc., it would have shown that I was behind the times.

Maybe what you need is another term for "socioeconomically in need" rather than "at-risk." In that case I'd suggest "living in poverty," "living below the poverty line," "economically disadvantaged," "socioeconomically disadvantaged," "low income," "very low income," or "underprivileged."