Grant allows Toledo to better support homeless students

Toledo Public TOLEDO —

Schools in the new year will triple the size of its staff that works with homeless students and will provide extra educational programs aimed at combating Ohio’s largest homeless-student problem.

The increased resources will be funded by a crucial grant the district went without for the past two years. Trustees in August accepted $400,000 in federal funding awarded by the Ohio Department of Education as part of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. The oneyear grant restored and more than doubled the $170,000 in homelessness aid the district previously received.

Come January, the district’s more than 2,600 students who identify as homeless or living “doubled up” will start to see the benefit of the extra funds with the start of new in-school and after-school programs.

Heather Baker, executive director of pupil placement at TPS, said the district previously focused on providing tutoring and other programs for homeless students at area family shelters, but she wants to see the programs move into the children’s home schools so they stay connected to their teachers and their peers.

For students who often don’t have a home base, ensuring they have a stable school life is key, she said.

“When they leave the shelter they also leave the programming behind, so we’ve learned to make sure the programming is in the schools and to keep them connected to their school of origin,” she said.

Officials anticipate adding fun, educational opportunities for kids at 17 of the district’s schools, all funded through the McKinney-Vento money.

Waite and Woodward High Schools, which have the highest number of students who report unstable housing situations, soon will have drop-in centers for teens. Evelyn McKinney, the district’s new director of homeless initiatives, said she wants to hear directly from students about what they need to be successful, rather than have adults make that decision for them.

“It’s really the invitation for youth to come and sit down and talk about, ‘What are the supports that you actually need, and how do we help build something that’s positive that you will connect with?’” she said. “So it really is a creative process for the students as well, and allowing them to have a voice.”

Nine of the district’s elementary schools will begin a “walking classroom” program to help kids build relationships and stay active while they learn. Students will listen to 20-minute podcasts while walking and then regroup to talk about what they learned.

Six other elementary schools will have programs focused on science, engineering, math, and technology.

“All of it has an academic component to it,” Baker said. “The goal is to try to catch those students who are our must vulnerable students back up.”