The
Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) lists seven staff members working out of the
Department of Funded Programs in behalf of students classified as Homeless and
Highly Mobile.
These
Department of Funded Programs staff members working in behalf of Homeless and
Highly Mobile Students include the following:
Minneapolis
Public Schools Department of Funded Programs Staff Working in Behalf of
Homeless and Highly Mobile Students
(March
2018) >>>>>
Staff Member Position
1) Brenda
Beyer Building Bridges Coordinator
2) Hannah
Couming Nemetz Unspecified
3) Margo
Hurrle Shelter Office Coordinator
4) Elena
Shaw Homeless Support Liaison
5) Tina
O’Shaughnessy Data TEch
6) Ryan
Strack District Liaison for Highly
Mobile
and Homeless
Students
7) Cindy
Hilyer Director, Early Childhood
The
program for Homeless and Highly Mobile Services lists the following information
on the MPS website:
Minneapolis Public Schools is guided by the McKinney-Vento
Homeless Assistance Act. This federal law provides homeless and highly
mobile students (HHM) with certain rights so they have access to
opportunities that will help them meet the same high academic standards
expected of all students in our district.
How is homelessness
defined?
The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance
Act defines homelessness as children and youth "who lack a fixed, regular,
and adequate nighttime residence."
This includes children and youth
living in the following situations:
>>>>> shelters or transitional housing programs
>>>>> motels, hotels or weekly rate housing
>>>>> doubled up with friends or relatives because
family cannot find or afford housing
>>>>> abandoned buildings, public space, car or
other inadequate accommodation
>>>>> awaiting foster care placement (prior to
court hearing)
How can MPS help my child
in school?
Students who experience homelessness have
certain rights provided by the federal McKinney-Vento Act.
Eligible children and youth have the right to:
>>>>> Receive a free, appropriate public education
>>>>> Enroll in school immediately, even if lacking
documents normally required for enrollment
>>>>> Enroll in school and attend classes while the
documents are gathered
>>>>> Enroll in the local school; or continue at
the last school attended, if that is the guardian's preference and it is
feasible
>>>>> Receive transportation to and from school, if
requested. Transportation could be provided by school bus, Type III school bus
(certified vans, taxis, or cars) or city bus pass depending on the situation
and grade level of the student.
>>>>> Receive free breakfast and lunch
>>>>> Have disagreements about school placement
decisions resolved quickly
How can I access these
rights and services?
The main contact for HHM students and families
in Minneapolis Public Schools is the School Social Worker. Each school in MPS
has a school social worker. You can call the school's main number and ask for
this staff person who can assist you with available resources and services,
including school transportation.
If you are staying in a shelter, please
contact our Shelter Office Coordinator, Margo Hurrle, by calling 612.277.0210.
How
do I access shelter?
Information from Hennepin County: http://www.hennepin.us/residents/human-services/emergency-assistance
You can always call United Way
2-1-1 for resources and referrals. It's free, confidential and available 24/7.
Cell phone users can call 651-291-0211. Toll free: 1-800-543-7709. Multilingual
access available for over 100 languages, including Spanish, Hmong, Somali and
Russian.
Pregnant
women and families with children
Discuss
shelter options with a shelter team representative. For more information, call
the shelter team at 612-348-9410.
>>>>> After
business hours: after 5 p.m. and on weekends and holidays,
call 211 to be referred to the after-hours shelter team.
>>>>>
Century Plaza: M-F, 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., go to 330 South 12th
Street, first floor, Minneapolis, MN
Domestic
violence
If
you are escaping a violent relationship and are in need of shelter, call Day
One at 1-866-223-1111. Day One is a central phone line that will connect you
with all the available domestic violence shelters in the state, starting with
the one nearest to you.
Homeless
youth
Youth
shelters may be available for people younger than 21. Youth shelters cannot
accommodate families. Parenting teens should follow the instructions for
families with children, above.
County
shelters
>>>>> For youth older than 18
>>>>> Century Plaza location: from 7:30 a.m.
to 5 p.m., go to the third floor, 330 South 12th Street, Minneapolis
>>>>> Northwest Family Service Center location:
from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., go to 7051 Brooklyn Boulevard, Brooklyn Center
>>>>> After 5 p.m., and on weekends and holidays,
call 211 to be referred to the after-hours shelter team.
The
Bridge for Youth
>>>>> Overnight stay only
>>>>> For 10 - 17-year-olds who may be reunified
with family
>>>>> For 16 - 18-year-olds who are unable to be
reunified with family
>>>>> Call 612-377-8800
Avenues
for Homeless Youth
>>>>> For 16 - 20-year-olds
>>>>> Call 612-522-1690
Hope
Street Shelter
>>>>> For 16 - 20-year-olds
>>>>> Families are contacted if possible
>>>>> Call 612-827-9372
How
can I help?
There are many ways to get
involved.
Advocacy:
Our
partners at the MN Coalition for the Homeless
and MN
Housing Partnership advocate to increase supports and
affordable housing for people experiencing homelessness.
Donate
Items:
Local
shelters and housing programs often have specific items which they need for
guests. Contact the shelters directly to ask how you can donate.
Minneapolis Family and Adult Shelters | Minneapolis Youth Shelters
Minneapolis Family and Adult Shelters | Minneapolis Youth Shelters
Support
Students:
Our
partners at AchieveMpls help make it possible for students experiencing
homelessness to pay for extra-curricular school activities like dances, college
tours, and senior parties. Designate 'HHM' or Homeless Students' on your
donation.
………………………………………………………….
A pamphlet is available for
teachers and others working with homeless and highly mobile students,
containing the following text:
Health
–
may miss school due to infections,
asthma. Infections and chronic health
problems such as asthma impact a
child's ability to learn. For example, the child
may be tired from coughing at
night with asthma or may have trouble hearing or
show delayed language development
due to untreated ear infections.
Prescription glasses may be lost
or broken and child may have difficulty with
school work.
Transportation
–
because of complicated
transportation arrangements, students
may arrive at school late and miss
the school breakfast program or first period.
They may have erratic attendance
and tardiness.
CLASSROOM INTERVENTION STRATEGIES
Clothing
Have extra clean clothing
available at school and if possible arrange to
launder dirty clothes if the
school has a washer & dryer. Quietly give the
student access to the school
shower if one is available.
Tell students they look nice when
they do.
Food
Make sure students and parents are
aware of free breakfast and lunch - the
students who are coded as homeless
and highly mobile are automatically
eligible for free lunch. Keep a
few healthy snacks around for students who
miss breakfast or need a
mid-afternoon snack. Ask students what the foods
taste like to help them wake up
their sense of taste.
Students may want and take more
food than they can eat at one time,
saving the food to eat later or to
give to other family members. Have school
staff closest to the parents get
information to them about food shelves and
other resources.
Health
Keep students' living situations
confidential; increase self-esteem by providing
an opportunity to pursue
non-academic activities at which they can succeed;
determine students' strengths and
build on these.
Have necessary toiletry items on
hand to ensure proper hygiene at school,
such as shampoo, soap, deodorant,
toothpaste and toothbrush, hairbrush,
combs.
Alert the school nurse when a
child is having health problems that may be
impacting his or her ability to
participate at school. The school nurse can
help the child and family access
health care, prescription glasses, asthma
medication and other health needs.
Transportation
Do not penalize students for
arriving late at school; try not to cover key
learning material in the first
period. Transportation arrangements can be
complicated and that can mean
erratic schedules. Consider a different
consequence for being late.
Monitor attendance and provide
appropriate follow-up immediately when
students are absent from school.
Ensure that students can
participate in field trips and school-wide activities if
they do not have transportation or
money.
Help students make plans for
transportation for after school activities or
other special events.
Parents' participation at school
may be minimal because of transportation
issues, but do not consider that a
measure of disinterest; keep inviting
parents and sending them
information about their students' progress. Find
ways to visit families whether
they are in shelters or in new living
arrangements.
Any
Projects That Require Family Resources
Be wary of assigning projects that
include any costs to students - this financial
burden may stop students from
participating.
If you celebrate birthdays in your
classroom with treats, look for alternatives -
parents may not have the money to
buy treats or the facilities to make treats
for their child's school birthday
party.
Sources:
Minneapolis Public Schools
Maryland State Department of
Education
National Center for Homeless
Education
Capitol UniServ: MEA Teachers
New Hampshire Department of
Education
Pennsylvania Department of Education
Minnesota Department of Education
Children in Transition Program,
Washoe County, Nevada
Questions to Consider
What behaviors have you observed
among students who are living with these
conditions?
How are you aware of these living
conditions?
Which behaviors are assets in
these living conditions and how?
Which behaviors are assets in your
classroom and how?
What strategies have you found
that help to engage homeless and highly
mobile students?
What strategies have you found
that engage families of homeless and highly
mobile students?
How have you appropriately shared
information about the student with
others in the school that
"need to know"?
For more information, contact:
Elizabeth Hinz
District Liaison for Homeless
& Highly Mobile Students
Minneapolis Public Schools
807 NE Broadway, Minneapolis, MN
55413
Email: zhinz@mpls.k12.mn.us
Phone: 612.668.5480
August 2010
EFFECT ON CHILDREN
Rootlessness; no sense of their
space or possessions; see
life as temporary; frustrated;
difficulty with transitions; no
sense of control.
POSSIBLE BEHAVIORS
Leave projects half finished;
cling to possessions; restless,
aggressive behavior as they try to
claim something for
themselves; feel loss of control
so they fight for control at
school; poor attention span.
CLASSROOM INTERVENTION STRATEGIES
To counter the loss of control,
give new students classroom jobs (monitor, team
captain, etc); give them choices
when appropriate. Look for ways students can
control their classroom
environment without being aggressive. Teach them to
act responsibly in the classroom -
be explicit about rules and expectations
whenever possible and re-teach
rather than discipline.
Teach students alternative ways to
express frustration (e.g., talk to someone or
talk into a tape recorder, take a
voluntary "time out" and remove yourself from
the situation to work on an art
project, etc.).
Support students' efforts to
manage or negotiate their own conflict or problem
solving, rather than rushing too
quickly with an expedient solution.
Include defined transition
procedures as you move from one activity to the next
("We have 10 minutes left in
this math period," or "At the beginning of the day,
we will…..").
Break tasks down into small segments
that can be completed in a short period of
time; keep a checklist of
completed work; contract with students to finish
projects and assignments.
Experiences of mastery and achievement are critical to
their self-esteem.
Give students something that belongs
only to them (e.g., care of a plant, ball,
game). Others must ask their
permission to play or work with this possession.
Do not take away their possessions
(e.g., toy, book, pen sets, etc.) as a
disciplinary measure.
Find ways to help students value
and care for material items. Many things come
to be disposable for people who
are homeless, constantly on the move and
unable to track locations of
objects.
EFFECT ON CHILDREN
Little or no structure in their
lives; lack of continuity;
unwilling to risk deep
friendships; depression over loss of
familiar places and friends.
POSSIBLE BEHVIORS
Use withdrawal and introversion as
a defense; unfriendly
or overly casual with friendships;
may have extreme
behaviors – withdrawal, shyness,
aggression and anger; fantasize about a
"normal" life. The
students may fall behind academically as they miss school
days, change curricula and
teachers; gaps in skill development; may be
inappropriately placed in learning
groups because of missing school records.
CLASSROOM INTEVENTION STRTEGIES
To quickly integrate new students
into the classroom, have a set of assessment
tools that can be quickly
administered in order to place the students if their
records are unavailable.
Assign students a
"buddy" to help them learn their way around the school.
Have the buddy work with the
student for a week or two and be clear with the
buddy about what you think would
be helpful for the new student. Involve the
student and the buddy in cooperative
learning activities.
Making friends is difficult. You
may wish to provide a time and place for
homeless students to meet friends
and classmates. The quality of peer
relationships is predictive of a
wide variety of educational outcome measures,
including attendance and drop-out
rates. Avoid removing students from positive
social situations for disciplinary
purposes.
Provide structure in the classroom
by keeping a consistent daily schedule and
clear rules posted on the wall so
that the schedule and rules are visible at all
times. When possible, let students
know if you are planning to have a substitute
the following day or any other
change of schedule.
Be flexible about classroom
schedule when possible so that activities with positive
social exchanges can be lengthened
and activities with negative exchanges can
be shortened.
Ensure that the students have
access to full range of educational services: Title 1,
ELL, gifted and talented
activities, tutoring. If scheduling is a problem, look for
alternative solutions.
Offer encouragement and
understanding; look for ways to recognize students'
talents and accomplishments.
Social exchanges with all adults
in the school community have potential
significance, from short hallway
conversations to extended teacher-student
interactions. Find ways to build
in these opportunities.
Be persistent in maintaining
positive social interaction and support, even when a
student does not respond or
responds inappropriately.
If students are insecure about
letting their possessions out of their sight, like
removing coats or hats, negotiate;
e.g., keep hat in pocket or coat on back of
chair.
Sharing may be difficult. Keep in
mind that any possession may be the student's
one of a kind.
EFFECT ON CHILDREN
Lack of privacy; disturbed sleep;
no quiet area to do
homework; unable to do homework
because of noisy
environment and lack of physical
space; falling behind
academically; unable to
concentrate.
POSSIBLE BEHAVIORS
Withdrawal or aggressive behavior;
constantly tired; other
people are "tuned out";
hyperactivity and delays in gross
motor development; wanting to be
alone - staying overly
long in school lavatory or locker
area; possessiveness -
unwilling to share; easily
frightened and concerned for
safety; refuse invitations from
peers because they can't
reciprocate; show consistent lack
of preparation for school -
coming in without books, supplies,
homework not
completed or papers not signed.
CLASSROOM INTERVENTION STRATEGIES
Use different approaches for
presenting important information (e.g., say it, write
on chalkboard, have students
repeat it).
Arrange assignments so they are
clear and doable at home. Be clear with
students about where to go for resources
to complete the assignment. Offer
tools to complete any required
task; e.g., clipboard for portable desk, paper and
pencils, supplies to build a
diorama, etc.
Give plenty of lead time for
assignments, since students may be less able to
produce assignments within a
limited time frame.
Arrange assignments so they can be
done at school if you learn that it is not
physically possible for the
student to do work at home (i.e., three families in one
apartment, family is moving each
night, etc.). Avoid assignments that require
TV, computer or other resources
they are unlikely to have.
Keep a folder of the students'
work. There may be no place for this recognition
at home. Use the folder to remind
the students of their accomplishments.
Do not use students' recess or PE
times as a makeup or detention period - they
may not have space in the motel or
shelter to run, jump and play. Think of
another consequence that is
consistent with your school's approach to discipline.
Provide a safe haven for students to
express their fears and frustrations through
verbalizing, drawing and writing.
Allow students space if they need
it. If they show discomfort with physical
closeness, try to modify the
environment to gently allow them more room.
Show attention to students. Offer
lots of eye contact if students are comfortable
with this. Make sure they know
that you see them, know their names and find
ways to include them.
Provide a safe and secure place
for students to store their belongings.
EFFECTS
ON CHILDREN
Clothing
- low self esteem; may be bullied or put down
by peers.
Food
- children are put at nutritional risk when parents
have the expense of buying food
daily - this means less
food or food that may not be the
most nutritious; may
cause gastroenteritis (stomach
aches), diarrhea, anemia;
all lead to a general weakened
condition making child
more vulnerable to upper
respiratory infections, ear infections and other health
problems that may impact on
ability to learn and participate fully in school.
Health
- lack of adequate medical care; chronic health conditions like
asthma and
diabetes may be poorly managed or
made worse by living conditions; more
exposure to infections and less
resistance to fight infection; possible insufficient
sleep, poor nutrition, inconsistent
availability of showers and laundry facilities can
mean poor hygiene; increased risk
of mental health issues like depression and
anxiety disorders.
Transportation
- may have complicated travel arrangements to get to school (2-3
buses, involving different adults,
cars and drop off points).
POSSIBLE
BEHAVIORS
Clothing
- children won't attend school if they feel their clothes are dirty,
worn or
out of style. Clothing and poor
hygiene draw attention. They may refuse to take
off coats or jackets because they
are wearing the same clothes throughout the
week or longer.
Food
- may show signs of being chronically hungry, such as anxious fast
eating,
hoarding extra food, stealing food
from others; numbness to tastes and smells
because of prolonged stress.
…………………………………………………………………………
Staff members serving homeless
and highly mobile students and families are among the most important at the
Minneapolis Public Schools.
They do transcendently important work when assertively involved in
the direct provision of services to struggling families and in referral to other
sources of services needed to provide family economic and functional stability.
As the K-12 Revolution
sweeps the halls of the Davis Center (MPS central offices, 1250 West Broadway),
Homeless and Highly Mobile staff will be used assertively for the direct
provision of services to struggling families and in referral to other sources
of services needed to provide family economic and functional stability.
Its staff members will be highly valued as key participants in the mission
of the new Department of Resource Provision and Referral, a large department
serving a function second in importance only to that served by newly trained
teachers.
In the thorough reorganization
entailed in the K-12 Revolution slated to remake the Minneapolis Public Schools
in the months to come, the newly energized academic and family outreach
programs will be at the core of the transformation that will bring
knowledge-intensive, skill-replete education to MPS students of all demographic
descriptors.
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