Bullitt County McKinney-Vento Mini-Conference
In honor of November as National Homeless Youth Awareness Month, Bullitt County Public Schools will be hosting two renowned speakers for a free mini-conference at the Paroquet Springs Conference Centre on Monday, Nov. 6. There will be a morning session (9 a.m.-noon ET) and an afternoon session (3:15 -6:15 p.m. ET).
The guest speakers will include Cheryl Fuller, author of "Piece by Piece." Fuller has more than 36 years of experience in education as a teacher, counselor, administrator and provider of professional development. She was a keynote speaker at the 2022 National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth.
The second guest speaker will be Diane Nilan, a homeless advocate, video creator and author of three books.
Those interested in attending must pre-register for either the morning or afternoon session. For more information, please contact Bullitt County Public Schools homeless liaison Tiffany Reynolds, or visit her Bullitt County schools' McKinney-Vento website.
ARP-HCY I and II Information
On March 11, 2021, President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP) into law. In recognition of the extraordinary impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on students experiencing homelessness, ARP included an unprecedented $800 million to support the needs of homeless children and youth via the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief – Homeless Children and Youth (ARP-HCY) Fund.
The U.S. Department of Education released ARP-HCY funds in two separate disbursements – ARP Homeless I and ARP Homeless II. The funds were intended to support the increased identification of children and youth experiencing homelessness and connect them to wrap-around and educational support services.
Recently, the deadline for spending ARP-HCY I was extended to the same deadline as ARP-HCY II, Sept. 30, 2024. No further extensions will be possible for either ARP-HCY program.
The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) will continue monitoring local educational agency drawdowns of ARP-HCY funds. As a reminder, ARP-HCY funds must be spent or obligated by the deadline. If you would like to discuss ideas about how to allocate the remaining funds before the deadline, please reach out to state coordinator Zach Stumbo.
Liaisons are strongly encouraged to review the Planning, Implementing and Sustaining Your ARP-HCY End Balance recorded webinar. This webinar was co-hosted by KDE and SchoolHouse Connection. During the webinar, presenters provided an overview of ARP-HCY funds, including allowable and strategic uses, best practices from liaisons implementing funds and strategies for planning for implementation.
KDE and SchoolHouse Connection Webinar Series Links
From late July through September, KDE's Zach Stumbo and Karen Rice from SchoolHouse Connection collaborated with colleagues at both KDE and SchoolHouse Connection to create a series of five webinars. Recordings are available on the KDE Media Portal
The webinars focused on the following topics:
 Lynsi Barnhill (nutrition director for Paducah Public Schools), Brandy Dix (McCracken County's Homeless liaison), Zach Stumbo (state homeless coordinator), Heather Anderson (Paducah Public Schools Homeless liaison)
Photo taken by Kristy Lewis of Paducah Public Schools
Paducah Public Schools Homeless Program Gets New Location
During a recent visit, state coordinator Zach Stumbo met with Heather Anderson, the Paducah Public Schools homeless liaison, to visit the construction site for the new Paducah Head Start Preschool building, which also will be home for its STAY program for students experiencing homelessness.
Kristy Lewis, Paducah Public School’s director of Head Start Preschool, led the tour through the new facility, which is scheduled to open in January. The facility and staff are excited to expand the identification of preschoolers experiencing homelessness in their district.
The facility will include thoughtfully designed classroom spaces, speech therapy, occupational therapy, areas for sensory needs, play therapy, and large areas for indoor and outdoor play. For more information, visit the Paducah Head Start program website.
Heather Anderson, the Paducah Public Schools Homeless liaison, will be relocating to this facility when it opens. The accommodations for the STAY program include laundry, a shower, meeting space and ample storage space. Anderson will be conveniently located near many of the wraparound services in the facility and within walking distance to the high school.
The new building also includes a private and secure back entrance for families that will be taking advantage of these services to use.
Northern Kentucky Homeless Education Programs Featured in Recent Article
The regional digital and print newspaper Link NKY published a feature article entitled “The ‘invisible population:’ NKY school districts discuss state of student homelessness” on Aug. 13, written by Halye Parnell.
The article highlighted the effectiveness of the Northern Kentucky Homeless Education Collaborative, which is comprised of several school districts, including: Bellevue Independent, Boone County, Campbell County, Covington Independent, Dayton Independent, Erlanger/Elsmere Independent, Kenton County Schools, Newport Independent and Southgate Independent. This collaborative maintains monthly meetings where the local homeless liaisons discuss issues, collaborate on projects and pilot initiatives.
The article includes information and video footage from interviews with Newport Independent’s Homeless Liaison Kristy McNally, Kenton County Superintendent Henry Webb, Brighton Center Director Jenny Wiley (community partner), and David Childs, a former student who experienced homelessness and is now a professor at Northern Kentucky University.
 Zach Stumbo, State Homeless Coordinator. Photo Courtesy of Jennifer White.
Recent Homeless Education Presentations
State coordinator Zach Stumbo presented at the Kentucky Director of Pupil Personnel Institute in Lexington on Sept. 21. Stumbo's presentation was entitled, “Homeless in Kentucky - What DPPs Need to Know.”
The session focused on key information from the McKinney-Vento Act that is important for directors of pupil personnel (DPPs) to know. This information focused on school selection, determining the best interest for students, and practices supported by research to combat chronic absenteeism. DPPs were shown resources from the National Center from Homeless Education.
On Oct. 2-3, Stumbo presented at the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) Multistate Conference in Louisville. This presentation centered on basics of the McKinney-Vento Act and stressed the importance of extracurricular programs like 21st CCLC in supporting homeless liaisons in increasing the educational performance of students experiencing homelessness.
Attendees from neighboring states received basic information about the McKinney-Vento Act and were asked to make connections with their local homeless liaisons in their districts to build professional relationships.
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