McKinney Vento Homeless Assistance
Who is homeless?
The term “homeless children and youth" means individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence and includes:
Children and youths who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; are abandoned in hospitals, or are awaiting foster care placement.
Children and youths who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.
Children and youths who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and
Migratory children who qualify as homeless for the purposes of this subtitle because the children are living in the circumstances described above.
The Laws and Provisions
The (federal) McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Act, as part of the No Child Left Behind Act, and the Illinois Education for Homeless Children Act ensures homeless children have a right to:
A free, appropriate public education, including a priority for preschool programs
The choice of staying in the school of origin or attending any public school that non-homeless students who live in the attendance area in which the child is actually living are eligible to attend
Immediate enrollment even when required documents such as school records, medical records, proof of residency, or other such documentation cannot be produced at the time of enrollment
Assistance with transportation if needed
We're here to help!
For further information regarding the educational rights of homeless students may be obtained by contacting the District’s Homeless Liaisons your school’s social worker or counselor:
District Homeless Liaisons
Oscar Hawthorne
ohawthorne@d187.org
847-775-1319
Tammy Thompson
tthompson@d187.org
847-775-1651
School Social Workers or Counselors:
North Chicago Community High School
847-578-7400
April May
amay@d187.org
Franni Dimon
fdimon@d187.org
Neal Math & Science Academy
847-689-6313
Rochelle King
rking@d187.org
Ellen Mazza
emazza@d187.org
A.J. Katzenmaier
847-689-6330
Stacey McNeely
smcneely@d187.org
Lisa Clark Morgan
lclarkmorgan@d187.org
Alexander Elementary
847-689-7345
DeLinda Dunlap Ryan
dryan@d187.org
Kirsten Brown
kbrown@d187.org
Forrestal Elementary
847-689-6310
Suzanne Diener
sdiener@d187.org
Green Bay Early Childhood Center
847-689-2450
Emily Coffey
ecoffey@d187.org
Transition Counselor for Military Families
847-689-6330
Suzanne Diener
sdiener@d187.org