Starting a McKinney-Vento Program

First Steps

Demographics from Independence, Mo   Population of Independence, Mo: 117,000 District:  Enrollment: 14,000+   Buildings:  27 K-12 buildings  2 Early Ed only sites & 13 EE sites at Elem Schools Almost 70% Free & reduced lunch Domestic Violence shelter Family shelter TLP  13-14:  998 MV students  135 UY   49% increase since 09-10 school year 6% increase over last 3 years

    Yourself Your District Your Community Families/students

Educate

Educate yourself on McKinney-Vento  Contact other area MV Liaisons  Homeless Liaison Toolkit: http://center.serve.org/nche/pr/liaison_toolkit.php

  NAECHY  Most frequently asked questions: http://www.naehcy.org/sites/default/files/images/dl/naehcy_faq.pdf

Checklist to assist with school selection: http://center.serve.org/nche/downloads/toolkit2/app6a.pdf

Educate yourself on McKinney-Vento ct’d  National Center for Hmls Ed website invaluable     briefs ( http://center.serve.org/nche/briefs.php

) http://center.serve.org/nche/downloads/briefs/reauthorization.pdf

http://center.serve.org/nche/downloads/briefs/introduction.pdf

http://center.serve.org/nche/downloads/briefs/sch_sel_checklist.pdf

 Eligibility for unaccompanied youth: http://center.serve.org/nche/downloads/toolkit2/app9a.pdf

Educate district/schools about homelessness Those who have the privilege to know have the duty to act.

~ Albert Einstein  Nationally & district specific  Causes    Numbers Effects on students Ways to help

Get “buy-in”/support from the top down  School board, Admin, principals, counselors, nurses, PTA, enrollment personal       District Professional Develop School Board mtgs PTA mtgs Principal mtgs School as a Whole mtgs Develop MV enrollment guide for secretaries

Educate local community

    Meet with community agencies Philanthropic Organizations Faith-based groups Media   Newspaper Newsletters  TV – human interest stories

Provide information to families & students         Posters http://center.serve.org/nche/pr/er_poster.php#parent Brochures Flyers List of McKinney-Vento Rights & Protections Information about community resources Family Nights Partner with community service provides to participate in information fairs Back to School Nights “…knowledge has power. It controls access to opportunity and advancement.” ~Peter Drucker

You CAN’T do it alone

Resources, Networking & Collaborations

Know resources in your local community

You can do what I cannot do. I can do what you cannot do. Together we can do great things.

     Shelter Providers Faith-based organizations Community Agencies Continuum of Care Civic Organizations

~ Mother Teresa

Form Collaborations

       Meet with community agencies Philanthropic Organizations Faith-based groups Libraries Local businesses Attend Community Meetings Chamber of Commerce

Data/record keeping

Information is Power

Data Keeping

   Develop referral system Identify “key person” in each building Tracking system/database  FileMaker    Access Excel School Information Mgmt System

Nicole Sequeira McKinney-Vento Liaison Independence Mo School District (816)521-5346 [email protected] Brenda Dowdy San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools Homeless Education Program Specialist (909) 386-2634 [email protected]

“…the most important work is not done by those who seem the most important, but by those who care the most.

~Caroline Kennedy