Bright Futures
Clinton School District addresses needs of homeless students
The word “homeless” may have several definitions and may elicit a variety of reactions from others. Residents of the Clinton School District may be surprised to learn that many students fit one definition of “homeless” children.
“We have 181 students identified as ‘homeless’ out of 1,356 students enrolled in the district,” said Glenda Stagg, chairwoman of the Clinton Public School Wellness Committee and director of grants and federal programs for the Clinton School District. She is also the local coordinator of the Arkansas Department of Education’s Homeless Children and Youth program, which is authorized under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Improvement Act to address the challenges that homeless children and youths may face. The school district is one of approximately 20 in the state that has been awarded a three-year grant to address the needs of homeless students or “students in transition.”
Stagg said the McKinney-Vento Act defines homeless children as “individuals who lack a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence.”
“We have a pretty high percentage of students who fit that definition,” Stagg said. “We have received this federal grant three times and are in the third year of the third cycle. We have received almost $100,000 over the past nine years. … That has been a big help. This money can be used for a variety of things —
clothing, school supplies and other things.
“But many have needs that are not met with this grant money; plus, this money is allocated for students only … not their families.”
Stagg and other educators and concerned citizens of Clinton have formed a group to help meet those other needs. Last year, they joined Bright Futures USA, a nonprofit organization that, according to its website www.brightfuturesuse.org, helps schools connect student needs with resources that directly exist in their community. The local group has a Facebook page and hopes to use this form of social media to meet the needs of students in the Clinton School District.
“We want people to ‘like us’ on Facebook. We can be found on the Bright Futures Clinton AR Facebook page. Be sure to put the ‘AR’ in there when looking for us on Facebook,” Stagg said.
“Bright Futures USA is a framework that brings together businesses, human-services agencies, faith-based organizations and parent groups and partners them with our school district in a way that helps us quickly and efficiently meet students’ basic needs,” she said. “This enables students and teachers to focus on education and achieving success.
“We have many resources in our community. With Bright Futures, we can match the student need with the resources within minutes.”
Stagg said members of the local Bright Futures Advisory Board hope to attend a basketball game in January, when information will be provided on this new community framework. They also hope to provide
information at parent-teacher conferences.
“We have students who are not homeless but have needs, too,” said Shelly Hink, Clinton School District coordinator for school health. “They may need shoes … backpacks … or whatever, but are not considered homeless.
“These kids who are classified as homeless may live in tents, campers. … Some have lost their home due to fire or because the family can’t pay the rent. … Some double-up with other families. We see mainly students and/or their families who are living with other families.”
Hink said that at the beginning of the school year, a form is sent home for the family to list an address and all of the children living there and their ages.
“Counselors, teachers, bus drivers … they know Shelly and I handle the program, and they come to us if they suspect the student is living in a car … in a camper … with another family,” Stagg said. “That’s one way we identify these students. Shelly and
I train the staff … teaching them the signs to look for.”
Members of the Bright Futures Clinton AR Advisory Council include school personnel, parents and community members, including the mayor and faith-based representatives. In addition to Stagg and Hink, other members are Joe Fisher, superintendent of the Clinton School District; Morgan Carlton, mental health coordinator for the district; Linda Sullins, Mutt-i-grees facilitator for the district; Belinda Murray, food service director for the district; Chad Brown, attorney for the city of Clinton; Richard McCormac, the mayor of Clinton; and Terry Simpson, minister at Grace Church.
“Bright Futures does not solicit money,” Stagg said. “We seek services and supplies.”
Hink said the school district is “swamped this time of year by house fires.”
“That means there are many needs to be met … food, blankets, toiletries,” she said, adding that Bright Futures Clinton AR might post the
needs of those families on Facebook and would hope businesses or individuals might respond immediately to those needs. “We hope that’s how this new program will work.”
Sullins said the Bright Futures Clinton AR initiative wants to raise awareness.
“People in our community have no idea about this issue,” she said. “People at my church were totally surprised by it.”
Carlton agreed: “Many people don’t realize what the definition of ‘homeless’ is. Mental health goes hand in hand with the homeless issue.”
Many of the educators who are on the Bright Futures Advisory Council are also on the school district’s Wellness Committee.
“The Wellness Committee and Bright Futures are working together,” Stagg said.
For more information, visit the Facebook page Bright Futures Clinton AR, or contact Stagg at her office at (501) 745-6000, ext. 5806, or stagg@clintonsd.org.