Goals, Strategies, and Activities

Pennsylvania's Education for Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness Program:
Its Goals and the Strategies and Activities
Through Which it Seeks to Achieve Those Goals

I. Goal: Homeless students experience minimum disruption to their education. That is, they:

• continue their education in their current school
• are rapidly enrolled in a new school, close to the shelter or temporary housing
• experience minimum transfers during the school year
• have the opportunity to participate in the entire school program, including supplementary instructional programs, field trips and other enrichment activities, after-school recreational programs, etc.
• experience a caring school and classroom climate
• experience success in their daily learning activities

II. Capacity-building goals: Others who can ensure that homeless students experience minimum disruption to their education - namely, parents, school and district leadership and staff, shelter leadership and staff, and leadership and staff of other social or charitable agencies:

• understand the importance of minimizing disruption to a homeless child's education
• understand the law with respect to homeless children understand their roles and responsibilities under the law

A. Parents

• have the knowledge, skills, and disposition to enroll their children in the most appropriate school for them and in ways that minimize disruption to their children's education
• have the knowledge, skills, and disposition to access assistance and resources that can help them both minimize disruption and ensure that their children receives the kinds of care and instruction that will enable them to succeed in school

B. School staff, contacts and district leadership

• develop and adopt policies and procedures which reflect the law and minimize disruption to homeless children
• ensure that all school staff understand the policies and procedures and have the knowledge and skills to use them to immediately enroll homeless students
• ensure that staff have the knowledge and disposition to provide a positive and caring environment for homeless and, indeed, all children; and that they provide them the kinds of instructional support that enable them to succeed in their academic work

C. Shelter and other social agency leadership and staff

• develop a working relationship with district and school staff that facilitates the immediate enrollment of new homeless children
• provide information and support to parents and students that enable them to fulfill their responsibilities in ensuring the minimum disruption to their education

III. Site Coordinators, supported by funds provided under the McKinney-Vento Act, pursue two main strategies to achieve minimal disruption to homeless children's education:

• capacity-building. They seek to develop the capacity of school districts, shelters, social agencies, and parents to act in ways that minimize the disruption of homeless children's education
• direct services. They provide direct assistance and resources to homeless children and their families aimed at minimizing the disruption of those children's education

In implementing these strategies, Site Coordinators engage in the following principle activities:

• collect information about the status of a homeless child's education and about the capacities of parents, school districts and schools, and about shelters and other social and charitable agencies
• provide information about what the law requires of school districts and schools
• provide training that ensures that parents, school leadership and staff, and the leadership and staff of homeless shelters, charitable organizations and social agencies that work with the homeless have the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to act in ways that minimize the disruption to homeless students' education
• provide personalized technical assistance to parents, school district and school leadership and staff of homeless shelters, charitable organizations and social agencies that work with the homeless
• provide funds to cover the costs that may be incurred in minimizing disruption to a homeless child's education and in ensuring a homeless student's access to the entire educational program of a school

For publications please contact the Center for Schools and Communities website at: http://homeless.center-school.org (then click on Resources) or call

Karen Beitzel at (717) 763-1661 extension 166