SPI to Host Homeless Education Summit – Year 2023 (CA Dept of Education)

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond will host a homeless education summit to address homelessness among children and mitigate educational impacts caused by homelessness amid the ongoing housing crisis in California. This summit will bring together educators; city, county, and state officials; advocates; liaisons; service providers; and other key partners to develop cohesive statewide solutions to reduce student homelessness.

The summit is scheduled on Thursday, November 9, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Los Angeles County Office of Education, 12830 Columbia Way in Downey. Immediately before the summit, Superintendent Thurmond will host a press event about homeless students at 9:30 a.m. at the same location. The press event will feature Superintendent Thurmond, who will be available for questions, and Holly Mitchell, Supervisor, Los Angeles County Supervisor, Second District; Miguel Santana, President and CEO, California Community Foundation; and Lindsey P. Horvath, Supervisor, Los Angeles County Supervisor, Third District. All media outlets are encouraged to attend.

Source: SPI to Host Homeless Education Summit – Year 2023 (CA Dept of Education)

Solano College launches Homeless-to-Student Outreach Program – Daily Republic

The Solano Community College Department of Public Safety has launched a Homeless-to-College Student Outreach Program “to help those experiencing homelessness become college students.”

Solano College “wants to serve all members of our community and encourages those who need support to enroll in classes. We will help them apply for financial aid, secure food and housing, and receive support services. The fact that our Department of Public Safety has initiated this effort to help the unhoused demonstrates their commitment to transforming students’ lives,” Superintendent-President Celia Esposito-Noy said in a statement.

Source: Solano College launches Homeless-to-Student Outreach Program

County’s Child Services donates backpacks, extends hours – The Vacaville Reporter

In recognition of Child Support Awareness Month, the Solano County Department of Child Support Services will be donating 100 backpacks, complete with supplies, to the Solano County Office of Education Foster and Homeless Youth Services program.

“We know that back to school is a big deal for students and their families,” said Liane Peck, Solano County Child Support Services director, in a press statement “Our goal in donating these backpacks is to help children start off the school year with all the essentials they may need – which can do wonders for the learning process.”

Source: County’s Child Services donates backpacks, extends hours – The Vacaville Reporter

Soroptimist International of Central Solano County installs new board – Daily Republic

Soroptimist International of Central Solano County installed the 2022-23 officers at their meeting June 23 at the Hilton Garden Inn.

Outgoing President Becky Lessler conducted the meeting, with Joan Towner installing the newest board members: President Judy Lloyd, Vice Presidents Susan Dever and Sally Silvia, Secretary Suzanne Ng, Treasurer Lynn Recknagel and Assistant Treasurer Karen Rees, according to a press release from the club.

Source: Soroptimist International of Central Solano County installs new board

Soroptimist Club gives $12,000 to SCOE for Foster and Homeless Youth Services – Daily Republic

Soroptimist International of Central Solano County presented $12,000 in support of the Foster and Homeless Youth Services Program during a recent meeting at the Solano County Office of Education.

The check was received by Superintendent of Schools Lisette Estrella-Henderson and Program Coordinator Akon Walker.

Funds are earmarked to help provide school supplies, as well as to meet other urgent needs of foster and homeless youth, according to a press release.

Source: Soroptimist Club gives $12,000 to SCOE for Foster and Homeless Youth Services

FSUSD receives $147K grant for homeless children, youth education – The Reporter

By Richard Bammer

Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District has received a $147,000 grant that, over three years, is expected to improve the district’s early identification, enrollment, attendance, and academic success of children who lack permanent shelter.

The Fairfield-based district, Solano County’s largest with more than 21,500 students across 30 campuses, is one of 73 districts statewide to receive the grant money, the district announced in a press statement earlier this week.

The grant will further support the district’s efforts to make sure students experiencing homelessness have equal access to the same educational opportunities given to all other students, district officials said in the prepared statement.

Source: FSUSD receives $147K grant for homeless children, youth education – The Reporter

Education for Homeless Children & Youth Grant Awarded to FSUSD – Daily Republic

By Kris Corey

Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District (FSUSD) is one of seventy-three California school districts awarded the Education for Homeless Children & Youth (EHCY) grant. Over a three-year funding cycle, FSUSD will receive a total of $147,000 to improve early identification, enrollment, attendance, and academic success of youth who are experiencing houselessness.

This grant will further support the district’s efforts to ensure students experiencing houselessness have equal access to the same educational opportunities as provided to all other students. In addition to academic support, the funds will bolster the social-emotional and mental health needs of students and families facing houselessness through targeted case management and holistic family support.

Source: Press Release: Education for Homeless Children & Youth Grant Awarded to Fairfield-Suisun USD

SCOE, other Bay Area counties address needs of homeless students amid pandemic – The Reporter

By Richard Bammer

Among the nation’s homeless, which may swell to more than 3.5 million during the year, some 1.5 million of them are K-12 students, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

In the Golden State, the number of students experiencing homelessness has increased by 48 percent in the past decade, higher than in any other state, with some 270,000 such students in 2019, or about 4.3 percent of the total enrollment.

In Solano County, which had 66,000 students enrolled in 2019, slightly more than 1,400 of them, or 2.1 percent, were homeless, according to data gathered by the University of California, Los Angeles.

Source: SCOE, other Bay Area counties address needs of homeless students amid pandemic – The Reporter

California schools report fewer homeless students, alarming advocates – The Reporter

By Carolyn Jones, EdSource

After years of steadily rising numbers of homeless youth in California, schools saw a significant drop during the last school year in the official tally of homeless students — leading some advocates to warn that thousands of students may have gone uncounted during the pandemic and are not receiving services they need.

In 2019-20, California schools reported to the state that a total of 194,709 students lived at least part of the year on the street, in cars, shelters, motels or “doubled up” with other families in houses or apartments. That represents a 6.2% drop from the previous year, before the pandemic upended education in the state and nationally.

Source: California schools report fewer homeless students, alarming advocates – The Reporter

California schools see big jump in number of homeless students – The Reporter

By Carolyn Jones, EdSource

California’s escalating cost of living has led to a 48% surge in the state’s homeless student population over the past decade, according to new research released today by researchers at UCLA.

Almost 270,000 students in K-12 schools lacked stable housing in 2018-19, numbers that almost certainly have grown since the pandemic and economic downturn began last spring, researchers said.

“We knew the numbers would be up, but we were surprised at the scope and severity of the crisis,” said Joseph Bishop, director of UCLA’s Center for the Transformation of Schools, which compiled the report. “Looking at these numbers was really a ‘wow’ moment.”

Source: California schools see big jump in number of homeless students – The Reporter

Schools would get $1 billion to help homeless students under bipartisan federal proposal – The Reporter

By Carolyn Jones

Homeless youth and families, who’ve been largely left out of federal coronavirus aid, would get more than $1 billion under a bipartisan proposal put forth this week in the U.S. Senate.

The proposal includes money for shelters, motel bills, food, school supplies and other services intended to help homeless students, whose numbers are expected to grow as unemployment soars to Depression-era levels nationwide.

“It’s what we need right now during this crisis,” said Darla Barbine, executive director of the National Network for Youth, an advocacy group based in Washington, D.C. “We were already at record levels of youth homelessness before the pandemic, but the coronavirus has put a spotlight on these deep fissures in our society.”

Source: Schools would get $1 billion to help homeless students under bipartisan federal proposal – The Reporter

Stuff the Bus supplies homeless, foster children with school needs – Daily Republic

By Daily Republic Staff

The recent Stuff the Bus campaign resulted in more than 700 backpacks being delivered this month to Solano County school districts and group homes – earmarked for foster, homeless and other students in need.

“The first day of school can be challenging for some students. Having brand new school supplies and a fashionable new backpack can help foster and homeless youth feel supported and prepared to learn. We are so grateful for the outpouring of support that the Solano community shows our students in need year after year. Their generosity really does make a positive difference,” Superintendent of Schools Lisette Estrella-Henderson said in a statement released Friday.

Source: Stuff the Bus supplies homeless, foster children with school needs

700 Solano Homeless, Foster Youth Get New Backpacks For School | Benicia, CA Patch

By Maggie Avants

More than 700 foster children, homeless students and students in need are starting the school year with a new backpack thanks to an outpouring of support from the community, according to the Solano County Office of Education. After collecting the backpacks through the annual countywide Stuff the Bus campaign, SCOE distributed them to Solano school districts, group homes and other organizations who work with foster youth, homeless and those in need.

“Thanks to the outpouring of local community members, SCOE was able to collect over 295 new backpacks during the campaign,” said Kimberly Govi, SCOE program manager and educational liaison.

Source: 700 Solano Homeless, Foster Youth Get New Backpacks For School | Benicia, CA Patch

‘Stuff the Bus’ program returns to help Solano homeless, foster students – Daily Republic

A Stuff the Bus event to provide school supplies to homeless and foster children in Solano County will take place Monday at two Fairfield locations.

Donations can be dropped off between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. at the Solano County Office of Education, 5100 Business Center Drive, or at the Golden Hills Education Center, 2460 Clay Bank Road, Building 2.

School districts during the past school year identified as many as 1,400 homeless students and 400 foster students, according to a statement released by the county Office of Education.

Source: ‘Stuff the Bus’ program returns to help Solano homeless, foster students – Daily Republic

Homeless students struggle in Vallejo school district – Times-Herald

By Rachel Raskin-Zrihen

“God, please bless this family.”

That’s one little boy’s wish after hearing about Pooja Chand and her family of five who have been living in an SUV in Vallejo for about two years.

The boy’s third-grade class at St. Basil’s Elementary School has “adopted” the family, and met some of them in person Tuesday. It’s the second family the school has adopted in the past five years, said Maria Guevara, founder of Vallejo Together which functions as a kind of matchmaker, connecting those in need with those who want to help them.

Source: Homeless students struggle in Vallejo school district – Times-Herald

Young and homeless in America | EdSource

More than 4 percent of adolescents and 10 percent of young adults nationwide were living on the street, in cars or shelters, or couch-surfing at some point in the last year, according to a sweeping study by the University of Chicago released Wednesday.

The study, “Missed Opportunities: Youth Homelessness in America,” was based on random phone surveys of 26,000 young people ages 13 to 25, and represents one of the most accurate, wide-ranging overviews ever conducted of homeless youth, a group whose numbers have long eluded researchers, educators and social workers, homeless advocates said.

“We just haven’t had definitive numbers like this before,” said Shahera Hyatt, director of the California Homeless Youth Project, a state agency. “It’s fantastic to have this data, but the numbers are staggering. We as a country really have to face the truth about youth homelessness. I hope this report finally spurs us into action.”

Source: Young and homeless in America | EdSource

In aftermath of fires, schools brace for newly homeless students | EdSource

By Carolyn Jones

Debra Sanders has spent the past five years providing guidance and comfort to Sonoma County’s homeless students, helping them navigate the school system and claim their rights to an education. Then, last week, she became homeless herself.

Sanders, her husband and 11-year-old son lost their home in the fires that roared through the Wine Country. Like many of the students she serves, she and her family are now living “doubled up” with another family because they lack a home of their own.

“Sometimes we can only relate to what we’ve experienced ourselves,” she said. “But for us, this is all temporary. It will resolve. For so many families who were renters or already living on the margins, it’s not going to resolve. At least not any time soon.”

Source: In aftermath of fires, schools brace for newly homeless students | EdSource

SCOE lands grant to help homeless students – The Reporter

By Richard Bammer

A little help is on the way for Solano County’s homeless students.

The County Office of Education has been awarded a grant of nearly $38,000 by the California Department of Education to aid homeless students. Superintendent Lisette Estrella-Henderson made the announcement in a press release late last week.

She said training will be offered to local school districts to increase awareness among school staff countywide and to make sure consistent, effective practices regarding the identification of homeless students and knowledge about the kinds of resources available to meet their needs.

Homeless public school students are defined under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, a federal law originally passed in 1987 and reauthorized by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2016. The purpose of the act is to guarantee that homeless students have the same access to education as other students.

Source: SCOE lands grant to help homeless students

Solano County Office of Education receives homeless grant – Daily Republic

By Daily Republic Staff

A state grant will support training to school district staffs about how to better identify and meet the needs of homeless students in Solano County.

The county Office of Education announced Thursday it had received the $37,638 grant from the state Department of Education.

“Supporting homeless students is a priority for all educators in our school districts, and, through this grant, the Solano County Office of Education will be able to continue supporting schools in their efforts to identify all homeless youth and provide them with the services they need,” Superintendent Estrella-Henderson commented.

Source: Solano County Office of Education receives homeless grant

Response to grand jury report on homeless youth wins Fairfield-Suisun schools OK – Daily Republic

By Ryan McCarthy

Homeless youth are accurately counted, the Fairfield-Suisun School District says in a response to the 2016-17 Solano County grand jury report that stated the number of homeless students in the district nearly doubled in one year when almost 500 more youths were identified.

School district trustees meeting Thursday approved the response by Superintendent Kris Corey.

Trustees made no comments before voting to approve the response.The grand jury, in its report released June 16, said school districts in the county presented conflicting statistics in reporting the number of homeless youth and recommended all data be verifiable.

Source: Response to grand jury report on homeless youth wins Fairfield-Suisun schools OK