TRANSITIONING-UNSTABLY-HOUSED-YOUTH-FROM-SECONDARY-TO-POST-SECONDARY-EDUCATION

CONNECTICUT STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Supporting the Education of Unaccompanied Youth Experiencing Homelessness Academic Success and Access to Higher Education... CONNECTICUT STATE

Transitioning Unstably Housed Youth From Secondary To Post-secondary Education

A special thanks to our Presenting Sponsor:

Track Sponsor:

Tracks: Youth Engagement &

Leadership In Ending Homelessness

Louis Tallarita

CT Department of Education

Mary Ann (Mimi) Haley

CT Coalition to End Homelessness

CONNECTICUT STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Supporting the Education of

Unaccompanied Youth

Experiencing Homelessness

Academic Success and Access to Higher Education

CONNECTICUT STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

• Support for academic success

• Student-centered, best interest decision making

“Homeless” “Unaccompanied Youth”

McKinney-Vento Act

CONNECTICUT STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Supporting Academic Success…

Identify Barriers and Revise Policy

• develop, review, and revise policies to remove barriers to enrollment and retention due to outstanding fees or fines, or

CONNECTICUT STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Staying on Track…

Grade advancement and HS graduation

• Employ effective approaches for intervention and personalized help,

matched to student needs

• Tutoring / individual instruction

• Study skills and test-taking classes

• Individual or small group instruction in reading and core academic areas

• Extra instruction / credit recovery through Saturday school, after-school,

or summer programs

• Include interventions and supports available through other federal

programs such as Title I and IDEA

CONNECTICUT STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Staying on Track…

Grade advancement and HS graduation

• Complement regular classes with independent study programs and target

specific gaps

• Use technology (learning labs, online learning, and computerized

modules) to fill gaps in credits for high school graduation

• Offer innovative and/or alternative programs to earn credits by

CONNECTICUT STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Paving the way to College …

Help to prepare for higher education

• School counseling to prepare and improve readiness for college,

including college selection, application, financial aid, and on-campus

supports [723(g)(1)(K)]

• Liaisons must ensure unaccompanied youth are informed of their

status as independent students and obtain verification of that status

[722(g)(6)(A)(x)(III)];

• Determiners of Independent Status: graduating students

identified as an UHY while in high school [*required under

ESSA; 42 U.S.C § 11432(g)(6)(A)(x)(III)]; subsequent year determinations for college sophomores, juniors, and seniors (optional).

CONNECTICUT STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Paving the way to College …

Help to prepare for higher education

Dealing with application expenses.

• Advanced Placement exam fees

• College entrance exam fees (SAT and ACT)

• College application fees

• College Board or NACAC waiver ; consult individual institutions- fee waiver policies vary.

• The Common Application (accepts SAT fee waiver).

• Apply online (no application fees).

Seeking financial aid and scholarships.

• FAFSAfor unaccompanied homeless students

• Private scholarships; search NAEHCY and Schoolhouse

Connection

• State specific opportunities

CONNECTICUT STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Taking another path…

Alternative options for youth and young adults

Connecticut Adult Education System - mandated programs

to to all residents, free-of-charge.

• Secondary School Completion.

• Adult High School Credit Diploma (AHSCD)

• General Educational Development (GED)

• National External Diploma Program (NEDP)

• Elementary School Completion/Adult Basic

Mimi Haley

Deputy Director

CT Coalition to End Homelessness

Ending Homelessness: Partnering with

Schools Across the State

Ending Youth

Homelessness

• Our next statewide goal is to end youth

homelessness by 2020.

• In January 2019, CT conducted the fourth

statewide Youth Count Results to be released soon.

• Results from 2018 Youth Outreach and Count

estimates that there are 5,054 homeless or unstably housed youth in CT.

2018 Youth Outreach and Count: Data from

Colleges and Universities

The total number of CT college and university students

surveyed was 1,978

1,623 surveys completed by CSCU students

Of those surveyed, an average of 17.5% of CSCU

homelessness

Housing Unstable or Homeless

Students

By School

• 38% at Gateway Community College with 42 students surveyed

• 21% at Middlesex with 71 students surveyed

• 26% at Eastern CT State University with 117 students surveyed

• 19% at Housatonic with 320 students surveyed

• 14% at Manchester Community College with 290 students surveyed

• 13% at Three Rivers Community College with 164 surveys completed

• 9% at Naugatuck Valley Community College with 243 completed

surveys

• The University of Connecticut system also completed 289 surveys and showed a rate of 10% of students experiencing housing instability or homelessness These percentages highlight the high levels of homelessness and housing instability among student

Map of College Students Surveyed, Jan 2018

CT College Student Housing Crises

by Race, 2018

Student Homelessness & Ethnicity, 2018

Percentage indicating they are Hispanic: 33.1%

Student Homelessness & Sexual Orientation

Safety and Student Housing Security

Places Students Stayed

Foster Care (DCF) Involvement

WHY ARE SPOCs NEEDED

school to post-secondary.

to post-secondary.

obtaining a college education will

enable them to break the cycle of

poverty and homelessness.

be overwhelming.

HISTORY OF SPOC MODEL

network for homeless youth in 2008

and created a SPOC program in

2009 among 53 campuses.

Education Initiatives in 2010.

began to support states to establish

state network for homeless youth

similar to Colorado and created best

practices SPOC program.

STATE NETWORK INITIATIVES ACROSS THE

COUNTRY

Initiative

Higher Education for

Unaccompanied Youth Experiencing Homelessness

WHAT IS SPOC

The Single Point of Contact (SPOC) is

designed to be a safe and supportive college administrator who is committed to helping unaccompanied homeless youth (UHY) :

process

referral among departments and services

on their campus

SAMPLE OF SPOC SIMILAR

PROGRAMS

Retention and Enhancement

Resource, and Empowerment

Urban and Off-Campus Support Services

Source: National Center for Homeless Education (April 2015)

HOT SPOT

The Higher Education Access and Success for Homeless and Foster Youth Act of 2017 sponsored by Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Senator Rob Portman (R-OH)

homeless and foster kids access and succeed in higher education.

○to designate a single point of contact to help provide services for these vulnerable students

Where to find more information

National Association for the Education of Homeless

Children and Youth (NAEHCY)

www.naehcy.org

National Center for Homeless Education (NCHE)

https://nche.ed.gov/

Connecticut State Colleges

and Universities

Lesley D Mara Executive Director Strategic Initiatives, Sponsored Research and Outreach

Connecticut State Colleges and Universities

lmara@commnet.edu

Who We Are:

CSCU consists of all of Connecticut’s public institutions of higher education, except UCONN That includes 4 regional universities (Central Connecticut State

University; Eastern Connecticut State University; Southern Connecticut State

University; and Western Connecticut State University) and the state’s only public fully online 4-year college, Charter Oak State College

CSCU also has 12 community colleges:

Asnuntuck Community College Naugatuck Valley Community College

Capital Community College Northwestern CT Community College

Gateway Community College Norwalk Community College

Housatonic Community College Quinebaug Valley Community College

Manchester Community College Three Rivers Community College

Middlesex Community College Tunxis Community College

Our Mission

The Connecticut State Colleges and Universities contribute to the

creation of knowledge and the economic growth of the state of

Connecticut by providing affordable, innovative, and rigorous

programs Our learning environments transform students and enable over 140,000 Connecticut residents annually to pursue their personal and career goals CSCU has five goals that focus on access,

affordability, student success, innovation and economic growth, and equity

Current Student Supports

Varies by institution, includes:

• Counseling (crisis intervention; referrals; workshops, support groups)

• Childcare

• Tutoring, mentoring

• SNAP employment and training

• Food pantries, grab and go, snacks, meal tickets

• Transportation assistance

• Housing assistance

Guided Pathways: Beyond “Good Advising”

Clarify Paths: Map Pathways to Student End

Goals

Help Students Choose a

Path

Ensure that Students are

Learning Help Students Stay on their Path

Improving Student Success

The Typical Community College The Guided Pathways College

Paths to student goals not always clear Clear roadmaps to student end goals

Too many choices Simplify choice: organize programs into meta-majors

Unpredictable course schedules Predictable schedules based on student need

“Opt-in” career & college planning Required academic and career plans created in first year experience course

Developmental education barriers Embedded supports to help students complete college level mathand English in the first year

Student progress not consistently monitored Student progress closely tracked, regular feedback & support

Credit-free poorly aligned with credit programs Stackable credentials; easy to move from credit-free to aligned credit certificates/degree programs

https://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/media/k2/attachments/What-We-Know-Guided-Pathways.pdf

Guided Pathways: A Student-Centered Approach

Holistic Student Support Redesign

• Monitor Student Progress

• Ensure all students are monitored

• Incorporate predictive analytics & technology

• Provide Appropriate Interventions

• Early alerts & outreach

• Align academic supports, learning strategies, & tutoring

• Wraparound services: basic needs, mental health, &

other supports

• Retention strategies based on local & national best

practices

Uniting Communities To End Homelessness

youth who are experiencing homelessness or severe

housing instability? Put your idea, your name, your role, and your institution/organization on your Post-It note.

worked?

BRAINSTORM SESSION: BUILD A BRIDGE!

Uniting Communities To End Homelessness

Build the Bridge: Put your Post-Its on the wall where you think your piece will be most useful – and help us build the bridge between secondary and post-secondary

institutions!

• Introduce yourself and in 5 seconds tell us what you

BRAINSTORM SESSION: BUILD A BRIDGE!