BRUSH PRAIRIE — At the Battle Ground Public School’s central headquarters is a trio of cozy offices, complete with children’s books, school supplies and stacks on stacks of information for families.
This is the Family and Community Resource Center, long a staple for other districts, but this year introduced for the first time in Battle Ground.
The space at 11104 N.E. 149th St. in Brush Prairie is designed to support Battle Ground Public Schools families who are homeless, at risk of housing instability or otherwise struggling financially. Staff at the offices can connect families with job and housing resources, details about local college options for parents and supplies for students.
While the district has been working to provide for homeless families for years with the creation of a resource guide and staff to field requests from families in need, the new space is more comfortable and easier for staff and families to navigate, according to Family Resource Services Coordinator Lydia Sanders.
“We have a space where kids can be happy and content while we work with families,” Sanders said.
As of Oct. 24, Battle Ground Public Schools had 161 homeless students, Sanders said late last month. As of that date last year, there were 147 students.
McKinney-Vento Act
When school districts take a count of their homeless students as part of the McKinney-Vento Act — a federal law that provides a method for districts to count their homeless population and provide them with services — they start over at zero at the beginning of every school year. At the end of the 2015-2016 school year, the district had identified 322 homeless students.
Linda Storm, secretary for the office, sits surrounded by paperwork in an office designated as the resource center’s data hub. From there, Storm is able to confidentially send information about families to individual schools, ensuring they get access to the resources they need. And though her office is small, Storm said it’s a significant improvement over the office they shared with other district employees previously.
“We were buried in the back,” Storm said. “We were in a bullpen.”
Furthermore, it’s easier to protect families’ privacy. If there’s a family in a back office applying for a job, or if she’s plugging data into a computer, Storm or another staff member can simply shut the door — a small but helpful feature of Family and Community Resource Center staff being in their own space.
“It doesn’t just serve each child, it serves the family,” Storm said of the new space. “It’s a tough road for the entire family.”
Sanders also touted the office’s space for families to explore options with community groups, collect supplies for home or sit at a computer and apply for jobs.
“Instead of having shampoo stuffed under my desk, I have a space for it here,” Sanders said. “We have the space to put the resources out there to be able to take the donations to support students in need.”