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Foster Youth Liaison: Jamielly Kreger - jkreger@eastsideusd.org
District Social Worker: Shannon Birden - sbirden@eastsideusd.org 661-952-1224As a branch of Student Services our goal is to support the education, social, emotional and wellbeing of special populations including foster and homeless youth. The Eastside Union School District adheres to all McKinney Vento and AB 490 legislation to ensure the immediate enrollment, timely transfer of records and educational equity of all students. All students are entitled to a Free Appropriate Public Education that requires all school districts to provide students with necessary materials to support optimal learning.Students identified as homeless have access to backpacks, school materials, hygiene kits and a food pantry provided by the district. New experiences are being created for this specialized population through enrichment field trips centered on theater, art and community service.
The McKinney-Vento Definition of Homeless
The term "homeless children and youths":(A) means individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence
(B) includes--(i) children and youths who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; or are abandoned in hospitals;*
(ii) children and youths who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings
(iii) children and youths who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and
(iv) migratory children who qualify as homeless for the purposes of this subtitle because the children are living in circumstances described in clauses (i) through (iii).
Every Student Succeeds Act ESSA
Signed into law on December 10, 2015 to ensure success for students and schools. Below are just a few highlights of the law:
- Advances equity by upholding critical protections for America's disadvantaged and high-need students.
- Requires—for the first time—that all students in America be taught to high academic standards that will prepare them to succeed in college and careers.
- Ensures that vital information is provided to educators, families, students, and communities through annual statewide assessments that measure students' progress toward those high standards.
- Helps to support and grow local innovations—including evidence-based and place-based interventions developed by local leaders and educators—consistent with our Investing in Innovation and Promise Neighborhoods
- Sustains and expands this administration's historic investments in increasing access to high-quality preschool.
- Maintains an expectation that there will be accountability and action to effect positive change in our lowest-performing schools, where groups of students are not making progress, and where graduation rates are low over extended periods of time.
Programs:
The Eastside Union School District is proud to collaborate with the United Friends Scholars Program to promote and provide college and career readiness for foster youth. United Friends offers an 11 year education support continuum that follows LA County foster youth from the seventh grade through the completion of a Bachelor's Degree. The program offers one-on one youth engagement with counselors, encourages growth through career development and enrichment, provides college matching and application support and participations in fun bonding events and activities.