ICPH Beyond Housing Conference- January 2018 Breaking down silos: Shining a Light on the Education of Homeless Students Through Practical Partnerships

NYC Department of Education Community Schools Jennifer MitchellMayer, CSW Program Development and Design Manager Office of Community Schools New York City Department of Education

Overview: 1. Overview of Community Schools Strategy 2 Overview: 1. Overview of Community Schools Strategy 2. Homelessness Within Community Schools 3. Linking schools and shelters -- data sharing as key element 4. collaborations with City Agencies 4. Leveraging Private Partners 5. Engaging Universities to Recruit Social Work Interns to Mentor Students in Temporary Housing

Overview of Community Schools:

NYC Office of Community Schools The Office of Community Schools is committed to realizing educational equity by providing all students with the individual support they need to graduate with core content knowledge, key life skills, and academic & personal behaviors that set them up for success in college and in life. We support schools to work with Community Based Organizations (CBOs) to become places where children have opportunities to learn, gain skills, create joy and have experiences that ignite curiosity and allow children to discover their passions and talents.

Community Schools: Support from All Sides A strategy to organize resources and share leadership so that  academics, health, youth development, and family engagement are integrated into the fabric of schools Harnessing the collective power of many to provide students and families with the tools and opportunities they need to succeed  Resulting in improved student learning, stronger families and healthier communities

Scale and Commitment Number of NYC Community Schools 2016 / 2017 2017 / 2018 Total Schools 150 227 High Schools 63 73 Middle Schools 46 60 K - 8 12 21 Elementary 30 62 Secondary 9 10 Lead CBOs 51 61 Students 65,000 117,000 + 50% + 80%

Key Stats 227 Schools 115K students 61 Lead CBOs 88% avg poverty rate 14.5% avg homelessness

Community School Demographics Community Schools Citywide Special Education 21% 18% English Language Learners 13% Students in Poverty 88% 78% Students in Temporary Housing 14.5% 8% Latino 53% 40% Black 34% 28% Asian 7% 15% White 4%

Core Outcomes and Results Student-Level School-Level Increased attendance and student engagement Improved school culture Families are more actively engaged in children’s education Connectedness to adults Development of social and emotional skills Seamless service delivery with partner organizations Improved academic performance

Core Services Deliver Scaled Programs Expanded Learning Time Summer Programming Hands on Learning Experiences CBO Co-facilitation & Push-in before, during and after school Family Engagement Family Nights Family Leadership Training Community School Forums Specialized Programs (Adult Education Classes, Home Visits, etc.) Attendance Improvement Strategies Success Mentors New Visions Student Data Sorter Weekly Attendance Meetings Health Services Mental Health Asthma Prevention Reproductive Health Vision Services School Based Health Centers

Core Structures build sustainability Building defined community partnerships with a dedicated Community School Director Innovating practice through data and evaluation Leveraging inter-agency partnerships

Homelessness within Community schools:

Systems level – big picture of student homelessness 227 Community Schools 117,000 Students 17,000 STH (14.5% of students) 2,600 STH- in 22 pilot schools (30% of students)

Community Schools strategy to support students in temporary housing through Deutsche Bank Foundation Grant: Innovative Data Support Community Schools have access to innovative New Visions Data Sorter, where schools can identify students who are chronically absent, in temporary housing and most in need of support. Targeted Resources and Partnerships: Interagency partnerships and intermediary networks have been leveraged to support 22 Community Schools and strategic plan to scale delivery to 227 Community Schools. Schools utilize evidence based Success Mentor program Principal and Community School Director Capacity Building: Multiple trainings, convenings, guides, materials to share best practices

Use A Scalable, Low Cost Early Warning Data System to Understand the Big Picture

Data sharing best practices: NYC Department of Education has data sharing agreement, and schools have STH data uploaded each week, so they can know who homeless students are in real time. Schools leverage weekly attendance meeting to review STH data, along with students who are chronically absent, and assign those students mentors or other interventions. Refer to two handouts: 1. “how to” use STH data guide, 2. STH individual school snapshot

Connections between Shelters and schools Schools reach out to shelters where they have many students residing. STH “Family assistant” at each shelter coordinates enrollment and transportation Best practice: Many schools go to shelters and do workshops on site at shelters to engage families.

Collaborating with City agencies:

City Agencies: OCS has developed partnerships with these agencies to support STH population: Human Resources Administration Department of Homeless Services Homebase Single Stop Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence Vulnerable Youth Summer Youth Employment Program: Guaranteed placement summer job program for students in temporary housing, age 14

Leveraging private partners:

Leveraging private partners and soliciting in-kind donations: 4,000 coats- NY Cares Food pantries through Food Bank NYC and City Council funding Nike Shoes/swag- several hundred shoes delivered to schools 1,700 backpacks delivered to 27 schools through Manhattan Portage Over 200+ backpacks and supplies delivered through Operation backpack 9,000 laundry pods and 800 hygiene kits- Positive promotions Hats and gloves- through Kits for Kidz New clothing- Building Blocks Foundation Holiday party - Innisfree

Best practices for partnerships: Not being afraid of making cold calls Introducing partners to schools Schools hosting events (forums, parent/teacher conferences, etc.) and inviting partners to have a table. Non-stigmatizing way of connecting families to resources Large scale events to connect partners and schools (community school director convenings, breakfast event for universities) Importance of thank you recognitions, photos, press releases, etc.

Utilize Title 1 funds  Title 1 funds can support STH (uniforms, backpacks, college fees, etc.) All homeless students have $100 allocation through title 1 CBO’s and principals can collaborate to plan use of title 1 funds together. Some CBO’s use portion of CBO budget as ‘emergency fund’ to also offer similar emergency concrete supports to STH  

Title I School Non-Title I School Uses Title I Set-Aside Min $100 x # of STH Title I School Title I per pupil amt x # of STH Non-Title I School Academic and support services for students in temporary housing Examples: backpacks, trips, uniforms, school supplies, emergency supplies Uses Title I schools are required to set aside or schedule a minimum of $100 per STH pupil. In determining how much to set-aside for STH, schools must factor in their responsibility for covering emergency supply needs (such as school uniforms) for the entire year. Non-Title I schools receive STH Title I funding based on the number of students identified as homeless the last SY multiplied by the per pupil Title I borough allocation: City-Wide: $888.56 Manhattan: $764.77 Bronx: $1,035.14 Brooklyn: $958.21 Queens $692.38 Staten Island $1,052.06 If you’re from a non-Title I school, you can see you school’s STH Title I allocation here: http://schools.nyc.gov/offices/d_chanc_oper/budget/dbor/allocationmemo/ fy16_17/fy17_pdf/sam08.pdf For more information on the acceptable usage of the mandated Title I, Part A set-aside to support your STH population, please refer to the Title I, Part A Set-Aside for Students in Temporary Housing Frequently Asked Questions document on DOE's website. Title I schools should work with school administrators to meet the unique needs of students in temporary housing.

Engaging Universities to recruit MSW and BSW social work interns:

Engaging Universities to Recruit Social Work Interns: Partnerships developed with graduate university schools of social work to place interns in Community Schools. Columbia, Fordham, Lehman, Adelphi, Hunter MSW and BSW social work interns serve as Success Mentors to homeless students, to deliver wrap around counseling, trauma-informed supports and attendance support.

Community Schools Internship program: Cohort of 30 MSW/BSW social work interns, who are in schools with high rates of homeless students, and in other Community Schools that have requested this support. Trainings provided to MSW/BSW social work intern Success Mentors on best practices in supporting students in temporary housing and using trauma informed lens Interns serve as Success Mentors, to help homeless youth to have strong school attendance, and uncover barriers to school attendance.

Students in Shelters have Highest rates of Chronic Absenteeism Source: IBO analysis of Department of Education data (2013-14). Students in grades K-12 only. New York City Independent Budget Office

What is a Success Mentor? Success Mentors are caring adults (or peers) who mentor chronically absent students to identify the barriers preventing them from attending school each day. Anyone can be a Success Mentor: teacher, principal, school safety agent, BUT Social Work intern Success Mentors are best suited to help STH youth.

Success Mentors – The Day to Day What do They Do? Morning meet and greet Phone call home every time student is absent and share a positive message Meet one-on-one and/or in small groups Recognize and celebrate even small successes How do They Do it? Track students’ attendance and improvement and identify supports and interventions

Johns Hopkins Study (by Robert Balfanz): Success Mentors Improve Student Attendance Students with prior histories of chronic absenteeism with a Success Mentor gained nearly two additional weeks of school (9 days), which is educationally significant. STH youth benefit the most from having a Success Mentor, gaining almost two weeks of school a year.

Videos: PS 188 https://www. youtube. com/watch Videos: PS 188 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oc64K3obVqE#action=share High School for media and communication https://youtu.be/tNsEdTAkeOk Ask people to respond to videos Ps 188 – I put two interns last year from Adelphi. This year I put one intern Abigail from Fordham university (Rachelle Kammer- Fordham) HS for media- last year- I put intern from Hunter College- Natasha (Deborah Giordano Hunter). This year I put intern Josephine from Fordham.

More Information: Website: www.communityschools.nyc www.communityschools.nyc/resources/STH