los angeles unified school district pupil services homeless ......homelessness in the news according...
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dry Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90012
Save the Date!
Los Angeles Unified School District Pupil Services
Homeless Education Program Newsletter
Welcome back from Winter break! As the
second semester begins there is much to reflect on. The first
semester was busy with many events aimed at supporting the
academic success of homeless students in Los Angeles Unified
School District.
We held two Collaborative meetings during the first semester,
held our annual Operation School Bell at Universal Studios and
brought awareness surrounding the topic of Homeless Youth in
the month of November. The semester ended with Sponsor A
Family where 120 families were matched with generous
sponsors.
In addition, there were numerous presentations and
collaborative efforts. Thank you for a successful semester!
OSB Prom
March 5, 2015
Homeless Symposium
April 14, 2015
Gardena Valley
Baptist Church
HOPE Scholarship
Deadline: April 30th
Visit the Homeless
Education website
for more information
W I N T E R 2 0 1 5
Coordinator’s Message
Please contact
Ana Quintero at:
(213) 202-7511
for more information
Happy New Year!
To our donors and sponsor we thank you for making the holidays for our families a little bit
easier. We know that in California more than 250,000 youth experience homelessness each year.
It is an especially difficult time during the holiday season for our students and families. We
appreciate those of you that did not let the season
of joy and giving pass without remembering our students and families.
Now that we are beginning the New Year we are
focusing on ensuring we are identifying all of our homeless students. Identification is not only
critical for funding purposes but also to ensure that
we are serving the needs of our students and families district wide. District policy requires the
identification of homeless students through the Student Residency Questionnaire (SRQ) and in
current student information system (MISIS).
The district will be pulling data from MISIS in
February to provide the state information for the upcoming school years funding through LCFF.
Our program is providing additional outreach and technical support this month on how to identify
students in MISIS. We urge both school staff and community partners to be familiar with and to use
our identification process (the Student Residency
Questionnaire). Community agencies that would be willing to work with us directly to identify your
families please let me know.
There are several events coming up and we hope to see you at our collaborative and our second
annual Homeless Symposium.
Looking forward to seeing you there!
Nancy Gutierrez
HOMELESS EDUCATION PROGRAM WINTER 2015
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Legislation
Legal Updates
AB1575 was signed into law in 2012 and applies to all students. AB1575 mandates that school districts cannot require students to pay fees for certain school activities, including tests, physical education
uniforms, and graduation caps and gowns. A district cannot require students to purchase or pay for a cap and gown if wearing a cap and gown is a condition of participation in a graduation ceremony. The
California Department of Education recommends that if a district requires students to wear a cap and
gown at the ceremony, students must be informed that: (1) the district will provide caps and gowns for
graduating seniors for use during the ceremony, and (2) students also have the option to purchase an appropriate cap and gown from a vendor. No student should be required to self-identify as indigent in
order to receive a cap and gown from the district. For more information, please click here. AB 1806 became law in January of this year. AB1806 establishes new mandates with regards to partial
credit, exemption from LAUSD graduation requirements, and expulsion recommendations for homeless youth.
AB
1806
Pupil Services: Homeless Children or
Youth*
*Please click here for more
detailed information on AB 1806
The issuance of partial credit for students that transfer schools in the middle of a semester.
Students who transfer in their 3rd or 4th year of high school may be exempt from district graduation requirements that
are in addition to the statewide graduation requirements.
In cases where an expulsion recommendation is at the
discretion of the principal, the LAUSD Homeless Liaison
shall be notified at least 10 days prior to the expulsion hearing.
In cases where an expulsion recommendation is
mandatory, the LAUSD Homeless Liaison may be notified
at least 10 days prior to the expulsion hearing.
In cases where an expulsion recommendation is at the
discretion of the principal and the student has an IEP, the
LAUSD Homeless Liaison shall be invited to the IEP
where a manifestation determination is made.
Homelessness in the News According to a recent report entitled “America’s Youngest Outcasts” issued by the National Center on Family Homelessness, the number of homeless children in America has surged to an all-time high.
According to this report, 1 in every 30 children has experienced homelessness. California has been the hardest hit, with 526,708 youth identified as homeless. On a scale of 1 to 50, with 50 being worst,
California ranks 48 in the extent of child homelessness. To view the full report, click here.
HOMELESS EDUCATION PROGRAM WINTER 2015
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Sponsor A Family 2014
Nothing compares to a child’s smile as they see
their gifts. The families are extremely grateful
for the generosity of their sponsor. Thank you
to all the people who make this event so
memorable!
Resources Important Numbers and Websites
211 - LA County - Info Line
www.211la.org
Public Counsel – (213) 385-2977
www.publiccounsel.org
LA Food Bank –
www.lafoodbank.org
Sponsor A Family has become the most
recognized event for the Homeless Education
Program. Every year this event mobilizes
hundreds of people from the community and
employees of LAUSD to sponsor over a
hundred families for the holidays. This year
120 families were sponsored.
Homeless Liaisons and School PSA Counselors
refer their neediest homeless families for this
wonderful event. There is much coordination
that goes into making this event possible. The
ultimate goal is delivered the gifts to the
families before the Winter break.
HOMELESS EDUCATION PROGRAM WINTER 2015
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6. Arrange for an “International Day/Night” to showcase different cultures.
7. Organize a “Drug Awareness Night.”
8. Provide a “Health and Fitness Night.”
9. Arrange for a “CyberSafety/TechnologyNight.”
10. Hold a “Parent University” or “Parent Academy”
to train parents in leadership skills.
12. Print (in the local newspaper) open invitations to parents and others to attend these meetings.
Click here to read more on this article.
Parent Engagement Tips and Strategies for
Increasing Parent Involvement
Adapted from Education World
It’s a fact that today’s parents and families are bombarded with growing demands. Regardless of their background or circumstances, they all
want what is best for their children. Parents are vital partners in their child’s education and life success.
The following is a list of events and activities that bring parents and families into the school. Commit to trying several in an effort to support
the involvement of parents and families in the education of their children.
1. Organize music programs or talent shows in which students perform
for the community.
2. Promote family activities like “Game Night.”
3. Host a “Discovery Night” where parents, students and teachers learn
together, in an interactive way, about a topic of universal interest.
4. Hold an “Exceptional Education Success Night” to recognize student
performance.
5. Organize a “Community Day” at which families provide volunteer time.
PSA Aides Corner We are pleased to be working with you this current second semester. Thank you for all your efforts in helping us service
homeless families in LAUSD.
A few reminders for this school semester:
Principals must designate their school’s homeless liaison
via the Principal’s Portal.
Fax over an SRQ application for each child whenever
there is a family you are referring to our office.
Remember to include your name, title, and contact information on the designated section on the second
page of the application so that we may contact you if/when necessary.
The SRQ application is a two page document that can be found on Bulletin 1570.2 pages 28-31
It is mandatory that homeless students fill out a new SRQ
every school year.
Please remember to enter the living situation of every homeless student on MiSiS. Under the Census tab locate and
select the Homeless option, select the addition sign to add a new record, and lastly enter the begin date of homelessness
which is the day they turned in their application as well as the end date of the school year, please include if possible what
the living situation is at the moment.
If students request transportation, a Metro TAP application must be completed and faxed over along with proof of
enrollment. The Metro TAP application can be found on
Bulletin 1570.2 pages 32-33.
Homeless families must be allowed to enroll in school immediately without initial documents to their school of
residence or their school of origin (the school they were last enrolled in before becoming homeless).
Lastly, we have added a new addition to our PSA Aide
family, Blanca Becerra! She will be covering the Southern region of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Feel free
to contact her and welcome her to the Homeless Education
Program.
Please contact our office if you have any questions!
HOMELESS EDUCATION PROGRAM WINTER 2015
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LAUSD News
CONTACT US: Nancy Gutierrez, Program Coordinator
Luis Munoz, Senior Office Technician
Main Line (213) 202-7581 Fax (213) 580-6551
http://homelesseduation.lausd.net POSITION STAFF CONTACT
Senior Parent Community Facilitator Tammy Wood [email protected] (213) 202-7571
ESC East PSA Counselor Jaime Corral [email protected] (213) 202-7512
PSA Aide Michelle Cabrera [email protected] (213) 202-7520
ESC North PSA Counselor Angela Midgette [email protected] (213) 202-7574
PSA Aide Kimberly Alvarez [email protected] (213) 202-7579
ESC South PSA Counselor Crisalia Aranibar [email protected] (213) 202-7516
PSA Aide Blanca Becerra [email protected] (213) 202-7523
ESC West PSA Counselor Laura Ewing [email protected] (213) 202-7513
PSA Aide Natividad (Judy) Luna [email protected] (213) 202-7522
PSA Counselor, Special Populations Ana Quintero [email protected] (213) 202-7511
Targeted School PSA Counselor
• Cabrillo ES
• Hollenbeck MS
• 9th St. ES
• Union ES
Monica Santana [email protected] (213) 202-7517
Targeted School PSA Counselor:
Rosa Parks LC
La Salle ES
Maclay MS
Telfair ES
Katie Rivezzo
[email protected] (213) 202-7515
News Release December 9, 2014
#14/15142
L.A. Unified School Board Supports Obama’s Immigration Reform Exhorts Congress to “fix our
broken immigration system”
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Board of Education unanimously approved a resolution expressing solidarity with President Barack Obama’s executive action on immigration reform.
Co-sponsored by Board Vice President Steve Zimmer and Board Member Mónica García, the resolution exhorts Congress to “pass a permanent solution to fix our broken immigration system.”
"At LAUSD, we are bold and we lead,” said Board Member García. “We continue to welcome all
children regardless of citizenship and we will prepare to assist our families that can benefit from President Obama's Executive Action on Immigration. This action is one step forward for some of our
families that live in fear - but our District demands more from Congress to fix our broken immigration system now."
Click here to read the rest of the news release.
