Youth Development
Review for Parent
Coordinators
• Attendance and
Chronic Absenteeism
Getting Started. . . Each One Teach One
Welcome!
We are passing out cards with topics
you should know.
Peer Presentations
For Each Topic Please Share:
1.What is it? What does it mean?
Peer Presentations
ARIS/ATS (Using Data)
• ARIS: Web-based system with facts about students (attendance, school performance, class information)
• ARIS Parent Link: Way for parents to follow student’s school progress from any computer
• ATS: Primary data system for all student information.
Peer Presentations
Confidentiality
• Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
• Domestic Violence status
Peer Presentations
Guidance Counselors
• Provide 3 main supports for schools • academic achievement,
• postsecondary preparedness, and
• personal-social development of students.
• Specially trained and licensed.
Peer Presentations
Bullying
• Social interaction with a more dominant individual (the bully) exhibits aggressive behavior intended to cause distress to a less dominant individual (the victim).
• Can be physical, verbal or non verbal.
Peer Presentations
Consolidated Plan
Schools are required by state law to submit yearly plans describing how they will support:
Attendance improvement;
Crisis prevention and intervention;
Bias harassment prevention and intervention;
Child abuse and neglect prevention and intervention; Services for students living in temporary housing;
Peer Presentations
Chronic Absenteeism
• When a student is absent 20 or more days per year.
• Maybe not consecutively—maybe not a “407.”
Peer Presentations
Special Populations
• Students in temporary housing• Living in shelters with their parents
• Runaway homeless youth – unaccompanied
• Students in Doubled Up situations (overcrowded) • Students awaiting foster care placement
• Students in the foster care system
• Students with disabilities
Peer Presentations
Educational Neglect
• Parent failure to ensure a child’s regular attendance.
• Should call state registry when 1) you know parent is aware of absences or has contributed to them and 2) you have evidence that there is educational impairment or harm (“adverse impact”).
Peer Presentations
McKinney Vento
• Federal law that protects the educational rights of homeless children and youth
• First enacted in 1987
• Reauthorized in 2001 as a part of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act.
Peer Presentations
STH
• Students in Temporary Housing (STH) Program
supports schools, students living in temporary housing and their families with their educational needs
• STH Content Experts
Peer Presentations
Mental Health
(Social Emotional Learning)
• Social emotional learning activities will help students change behavior from negative to positive
• Students will feel better about themselves and may feel more integrated into their school; students respond
better to caring adults
• Invest in curriculum or programs with this focus
Peer Presentations
Residency Questionnaire
• Schools use this form to ask parents and youth about their living arrangements, in order to identify students experiencing homelessness in the school
• Schools must enter the correct housing codes for all
Peer Presentations
Planning Interviews
• Requirements for the discharge of students who are under 17 to ensure that outreach services are provided and parents have been officially notified.
• Legal document.
• Not just a job for an Attendance Teacher.
Peer Presentations
Respect for All
• Related to Chancellor’s Regulation A-845 to address bullying and harassment.
• School-based community-building projects and learning opportunities that promote a safe and respectful
environment for all students.
It’s All Connected. . .
Together we build and maintain
healthy environments and positive
attitudes for learning. . .
Attendance
Question:
If a student has 90% attendance for
a school year, how many days has
he missed?
Answer:
Attendance
Discussion:
Why are students absent?
Attendance
Discussion:
How do schools track student
absences?
Attendance
Mayor’s Interagency Task Force on Chronic Absenteeism
“We are going to focus on truant children because keeping them in school is an investment in their health, future success, and everyone's safety.”
-Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg
• First-ever citywide campaign to reduce chronic absenteeism
Students in Temporary Housing
GOALS
• Understanding the educational rights of homeless children and youth
• McKinney-Vento Act and its requirements
• NYC Department of Education Students in Temporary Housing Program (STH) procedures and services
• Consolidated School and Youth Development Plan • Collaboration
Students in Temporary Housing
Who is covered under the McKinney-Vento Act?
One who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime
residence, including children and youth who are:
• Living in emergency or transitional housing;
• Sharing housing due to loss of housing or economic hardship;
• Living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to lack of alternative adequate housing;
• Awaiting foster care placement;
• Living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, or bus or train stations;
• Children and youth who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, regular sleeping
accommodations; or
Students in Temporary Housing
Fixed
Adequate
Regular
FIXED:
Stationary, permanent, and not subject to change.
REGULAR:
Used on a predictable or routine basis.
ADEQUATE:
Sufficient for meeting both the
Students in Temporary Housing
Unaccompanied Youth
The McKinney-Vento Act and state laws that deal with the educational rights of children and youth who are
homeless, define an unaccompanied youth as one:
• Who is “not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian” (M-V Sec. 725(6)) and
Students in Temporary Housing
McKinney-Vento Act requirements
• Designate a homeless liaison for each Community School District. The Students in Temporary Housing (STH) Content Experts or STH Liaisons in each borough serve as the homeless liaisons in NYC.
• Identify homeless children and youth (NYC public schools use the “Residency Questionnaire” to identify the STH population)
• Ensure students enroll in and have a full and equal opportunity to succeed in school
Students in Temporary Housing
McKinney-Vento Act requirements
• Assist students with immediate enrollment, even if they do not have: 1) school records, 2) medical
records/immunizations; 3) proof of residency; 4) guardianship papers; 5) birth certificates or other documents normally needed
• Assist students with tutoring and related support
services, free school lunch, Special Education, school supplies and Summer Programs
Students in Temporary Housing
School Selection
Students who are homeless have the right to attend: the local school where they are temporarily living (also known as the zoned school)
OR
the school of origin, which includes:
Students in Temporary Housing
Question:
How long can a student stay in the
local school or the school of
origin?
Answer:
Students in Temporary Housing
Question:
Who chooses what school the child
attends?
Answer:
Under state law,
The parent or person in parental relation (usually the legal guardian); or
Students in Temporary Housing
Transportation: Busing
Yellow bus service is provided to students in grades K-6 whenever an appropriate route exists to provide such service.
Chancellor’s Regulation A-780 Busing should be arranged within 5 business days. If there is a delay, contact the STH Content Expert
To request yellow bus service:
• Ensure the student’s address is updated in ATS (this is crucial)
• For Shelters: a “Request for Shelter Variance” form must be submitted it to the Office of Pupil Transportation (OPT) by shelter based personnel. If shelter personnel is not available to provide this assistance, contact the borough STH Content Experts. The STH Content Expert List can be found at the DOE STH website below:
Students in Temporary Housing
Transportation: Busing
Special Instructions for OPT’s Shelter & Multi-Purpose Variance Forms (visit the OPT’s website to learn more)
• For Domestic Violence (DV) cases: a P.O. Box is used for the student’s residence in ATS to protect confidentiality. The
“Shelter Variance” form includes the DV option
• For Doubled Up students: complete the “Multi-Purpose Variance” form and submit it to OPT.
Students in Temporary Housing
Transportation: Busing
For students not receiving busing, a full-fare MetroCard should be provided by the school. All normal distance and age requirements are waived.
Chancellor’s Regulation A-780
Students waiting to receive a transportation pass from school should receive MetroCards from the Students in Temporary Housing Program.
M-V Section 722(g)(1)(J)(iii)
Students in Temporary Housing
Meals
• All students identified as homeless are entitled to free meals.
• A completed application is not required to receive free meals.
Students in Temporary Housing
STH Program Structure:
STH Family Assistants Available to students in DHS, HPD and some HRA Domestic Violence family shelters
STH Content Experts/Liaisons
Formerly known as STH Coordinators and also referred to as Homeless Liaisons or LEA Liaisons
STH Senior Program Manager and STH Coordinator Responsible for trouble-shooting
Students in Temporary Housing
Consolidated Plan STH Section
1) Identify the name and title of the staff person who disseminates the Residency Questionnaire and enters and updates residency information for students in ATS (student’s bio page/BIOU)
2) Describe your plan for distributing the Residency Questionnaire for all newly enrolled students (by October 31st) and students
who change their addresses during the school year (ongoing). All students on your register must have a designated housing
Students in Temporary Housing
Consolidated Plan STH Section
3) Identify the location of English and Spanish McKinney-Vento posters (which inform parents and students of their rights under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act) in your school. Posters can be ordered free of charge at www.nysteachs.org • Visible (main office, Guidance Counselors’ offices, etc.)
4) Identify the name and title of the staff person who will serve as the STH School-Based Liaison for your school. The Liaison will keep track of students living in temporary housing who attend your school and provide them with appropriate interventions and
Students in Temporary Housing
Title I, Part A Set-Aside
• Schools are mandated to set-aside a portion of its Title I allocation to support the unique needs of the STH population
• The set-aside should assist the STH population in meeting the State’s challenging academic content and academic achievement standards as well as assisting them when they have urgent needs
• The Title I Funds Summary of School Allocation Memorandum includes the amount your school received based on the number of homeless students living in temporary housing reported in the previous year. Principals should discuss this with the STH School-Based Liaison to maintain an accurate count of homeless students and to learn about the specific needs homeless students
Students in Temporary Housing
Consolidated Plan STH Section
5) Describe the services provided to the STH population with Title I Set-Aside funds (not applicable for District 75 schools).
This answer must be aligned with answers provided on Appendix 9 of the School Comprehensive Educational Plan (CEP).
For more information on using Title I Set-Aside funds to support your STH population, please refer to the Frequently Asked
Questions document on DOE's website:
Students in Temporary Housing
Collaboration
Share important information with parents/students and other school staff members
• McKinney Vento Act Guide for Parents
• STH Contact Expert List
Students in Temporary Housing
Collaboration
Connect with the STH office
• STH staff is available to answer questions
• Unaccompanied Youth population identification
• ATS reports
• Updating housing status codes in ATS
Students in Temporary Housing
Collaboration
Be resourceful
• Use the STH website to obtain information and print forms (documents are available in nine different
languages)
• Use resources on the web to learn strategies in
Students in Temporary Housing
Support your School by. . .
• Discussing the mandate of the McKinney Vento Act and Chancellor’s Regulation A-780
• Providing training on STH Program procedures and services and on generating STH Reports
Students in Temporary Housing
Support your School by. . .
• Helping schools comply with the Office of School and Youth Development Consolidated Plan (ex. STH School Based Liaison, Residency Questionnaire, etc.)
• Providing training on how to access forms, find resources on line, etc.
Wrapping Up . . .
What is one thing you learned
today?
Contacts
CFN Attendance Content Experts/Attendance Primary Point
CFN Youth Development Content Experts/Attendance Primary Point
Kim Suttell, Director of Attendance Policy and Planning
Susana Vilardell, Director of Students in Temporary Housing
(212) 374-2530
Links
Students in Temporary Housing website:
http://schools.nyc.gov/StudentSupport/NonAcademicSupport/Student sinTemporaryHousing/default.htm
New York State Technical & Education Assistance Center for Homeless Students (NYSTEACHS)
http://www.nysteachs.org
National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth
http://www.naehcy.org/index.html
National Runaway Switchboard
www.nrscrisisline.org; 800-621-4000
Resources to support the LGBTQ-Homeless population:
Links
ACS DOE Joint Policy Statement on Ed. Neglect and related resources:
http://schools.nyc.gov/StudentSupport/NonAcademicSupport/ChildAb use/default.htm
Chancellor’s Regulations for Attendance:
http://docs.nycenet.edu/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-14/A-210.pdf
Social-Emotional Learning, Mental Health and related supports:
Appendix - Students in Temporary Housing
Dispute Resolution:
Each school district must establish procedures for how to promptly resolve disputes regarding school selection and enrollment for students experiencing
homelessness.
8 N.Y.C.R.R. § 100.2(x)(7)(ii)(a). If a school believes that a student is not entitled to
enrollment or transportation, the school must:
• Give the parent or youth a written explanation of the school’s decision;
• Immediately admit the student to the school of choice while the dispute is being resolved;
• Provide transportation if the student is attending the school of origin; and
Dispute Resolution, cont’d
• The parent, guardian, or unaccompanied youth has 30 days from the day she received the written decision from the school to appeal the decision to the Commissioner of Education.
• If the parent, guardian, or unaccompanied youth doesn’t file an
appeal and stay within 30 days, the school can implement its decision denying enrollment or transportation.
• During the dispute resolution process the liaison must:
* provide parent, guardian, or unaccompanied youth with the appeal forms and stay application, and help fill them out;
* make copies of the appeal forms and any supporting documents at no cost to the parent or youth.
