Program For Homeless Students Working Well At Dist. 81

Thu., Oct. 28, 1999

By Wendy Harris wendyh@spokesman.com

Spokane School District 81’s program for homeless youth is alive and well after being pulled from the YWCA and put back into community schools, district officials say.

Last spring, the school district closed the YWCA Transition School, joining a national move to desegregate homeless students.

District officials reorganized the program, placing emphasis on outreach throughout the district to serve homeless students in their neighborhood schools.

This month, the district is serving 69 homeless students in the revamped Transition School Program, compared to 23 who attended the YWCA school the same time last year, said Carol Olsen, District 81’s Title 1 coordinator who is overseeing the program.

In addition to the 69 students, there are 14 homeless youth who are attending Spokane schools who have transitioned out of the program, Olsen said.

Under the reorganization, one of the program’s former teachers is now a facilitator who works with three assistants to track homeless youth in the district. The team works to connect the students and their families with various social services, including housing assistance, shelters, medical clinics and charitable organizations.

Team members also are visiting the district’s schools, speaking with administrators, teachers and school counselors to familiarize them with the program and signs of homelessness. That way, schools can refer students to the program.

So far, the new program has been a success, Olsen said.

“Just being able to stay with their friends and in their neighborhood schools, and for parents to keep that part of the children’s life stable, is the real positive part,” Olsen said.

The school board was scheduled to hear a report on the homeless program at its Wednesday night meeting.

Though some had opposed the closure of the YWCA school, which had operated for nine years, Olsen said she hasn’t heard any complaints yet regarding the new program.

Program facilitator Edie Sims said the response from parents has been overwhelmingly positive.

“What we’ve heard from parents is that they’ve never had a school district offer this type of support,” Sims said. “I had one mom last week who was afraid to leave a domestic violence situation because she didn’t want to take her kids out of their neighborhood school.”

After Sims explained to the woman the children wouldn’t have to leave their school, they moved into a shelter. The district is now taxiing the two children to their school.

The YWCA continues to be a partner in the program and offers after-school activities for the students, including swimming and other recreational programs.

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