Housing insecurity remains a key barrier for many students’ ability to learn and participate in schools.
This past week, New York State’s Education Department awarded $8.1 million in federal funds to support school districts and charter schools across the state serving homeless students.
Liberty Central School District was one of those grant recipients and received a three-year grant totaling $525,000 to support students facing housing insecurity.
Radio Catskill’s Kimberly Izar spoke with Deborah DeGraw, Director of Student Services at Liberty Central School District, and Dawn Hurley, the district’s McKinney-Vento Outreach Coordinator, to learn more. A McKinney-Vento Outreach Coordinator is a mandatory school district staff member who identifies, enrolls, and supports students experiencing homelessness.