12/14/2017
Education Trust’s new policy brief: Improving Opportunity & Achievement for Students Experiencing Homelessness, is a clarion call to most school districts that they can do more to support homeless students. The extensive data analysis uncovered remarkable findings, including the myriad of problems associated with being homeless or formerly homeless, as well as schools with homeless students exceeding the NYS average achievement in mathematics and ELA.
Every district with homeless students is required to conduct a Needs Assessment each year. Following Education Trust’s recommendations and new Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and McKinney-Vento reporting requirements, districts can create a baseline report from which they can easily measure their progress annually.
VIA Evaluation has evaluated district data referred to in each recommendation, both for Big 4 and other districts across the state. It has also evaluated a McKinney-Vento sub-grant, with a district with one of the highest numbers of homeless students in the state. To help your district learn where it stands in serving homeless students in every category mentioned in the Education Trust report, please call Gary Ciurczak at (716) 362-0627 or email us at [email protected]. We can help you comply with the required Needs Assessment and new reporting requirements, create a baseline report, and help develop your improvement plan for serving your homeless students.
