MOUNT VERNON — In the days after she ran away from a drug-addicted, abusive parent, the 15-year-old Mount Vernon High School student was faced with homelessness.

At first, the stress of being homeless — finding a job, finding food, staying with different families and abiding by their rules — became too much for the teen. She remained enrolled in school, but instead took online classes. Now, at age 17, she plans to graduate in the fall.

“Dropping out wasn’t an option,” said the girl, who asked that her name not be used for this article. “I have to graduate, you know? I have plans.”

In her quest to become everything her parents were not — supportive, drug-free, kind and educated — the girl has also become more focused about her future.

“I’ve watched my family, and they’ve never graduated,” she said. “It’s like, why would I see how they are in that situation and repeat it? Graduating, it’s the only thing that will save you.”

School districts in Skagit County have tracked more homeless students in all grades in recent years. While most teenagers either run away from home or are thrown out, students in lower grades become homeless along with their families.

Classrooms are often the only stability in a homeless student’s life.

The McKinney-Vento Homeless Education act ensures that homeless students remain in the same school, no matter where they sleep. As part of the act, school districts must transport children to their school, sometimes across county lines, said Jennifer Angelis, the Sedro-Woolley School District’s McKinney-Vento liaison.

Students become homeless when a family reaches a tipping point. Maybe a parent lost a job, or there’s a medical crisis, or the parents split up, Angelis said.

“It’s obviously traumatic for the student. ... Emotional turmoil hugely distracts from education,” Angelis said.

“For them to have a regular routine and a comfortable and familiar environment can really help stabilize them and help them through that time.”

The number of homeless students in the district also depends on whether there’s a flood or other natural disaster, Angelis said. Sedro-Woolley’s numbers spiked in the 2006-07 school year, to 243 from 150 homeless students the previous year, due to a flood that affected much of the land upriver. Individual district counts reflect the number of students who have been homeless at any point during the school year, regardless of the length of time.

The state does not track the number of homeless students who graduate from high school, but Camille Danon, YMCA Oasis Teen Shelter program director, said most teens who seek shelter at her facility are no longer in high school.

The shelter is a place for teens to sleep, do laundry, get free food and feel safe. Oasis recently opened a day shelter so teens can drop in for a place to do homework or apply for jobs on the Internet.

Devon, 16, used to attend Mount Vernon High School but dropped out after his father kicked him out of his home. He goes to the teen shelter to unwind and meet with friends, but not usually to sleep, he said.

“I either get under a bridge or find some couch,” Devon<FEFF> said. “I always find some way to sleep somewhere warm.”

The teen, with an ear full of colorful earrings and homemade tattoos on his arms, said he wants to become a guitarist in a band someday. But with his guitar pawned for gas money, Devon is focusing on the next step — earning his General Equivalency Diploma (GED).

Since 2002, the state has recorded the numbers of homeless youths, as required by federal law.

“Every year the numbers have increased,” said Melinda Dyer, the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction’s coordinator for education for homeless children and youths.

Dyer said the numbers are rising, both because there are more homeless students and because officials have become more adept at identifying them.

Doug Walker, principal of State Street High School in Sedro-Woolley, said students are often living in situations where, 10 years ago, many would not have considered them homeless. He said eight studat State Street are considered homeless under the law.

“Ten years ago, I wouldn’t identify someone in Sedro-Woolley as homeless if they are living with their sister in Mount Vernon,” Walker said. “But they’re being identified now under McKinney-Vento. I think it’s an artifact of the institution we’ve created.”

Walker said he doesn’t mean to trivialize homelessness, because real need does exist.

Stacy Miller, housing manager for Skagit County Community Action Agency, said that while this year’s homeless count will probably be the same as last year, she’s seeing more families that are homeless for the first time.

But finding homeless families can be difficult because parents think if they tell anyone, their children will be taken away. Not so, Miller said.

For young children especially, homelessness creates a whole new series of stresses.

“I think being homeless is embarrassing for a kid because they don’t want people to know,” Miller said.

Students miss school because they are moving from place to place, through different school boundaries, entering classrooms with different educational curricula and navigating new social circles.

“A lot of kids are missing their education ... kids really pay the price of this,” Miller said. “Education is the only way out for a kid.”

For now, the 17-year-old Mount Vernon High girl plans to stay with a friend in Bellingham.

While looking forward to her future, she also remembers her past. When she lived with her mother, random people came into her room and stole things to sell for their drug habit, she said.

After years of tolerating her mother’s methamphetamine and marijuana use, she finally ran away when her mother threatened to stab herself. In a struggle, the teen’s mother hit her on the arm, leaving a large bruise.

But she plans to return.

“I’m moving back in with her because I have nowhere else to go,” she said.

Now that they’ve had some time apart, the girl said they get along better. She plans to keep working and save up for an apartment in Seattle.

For a teen with few options and a desire for some semblance of stability, it’s the best she can do.

Kate Martin can be reached at 360-416-2145 or at .