STEP
Students in Transition Empowerment Program
Embedded Files
Table of Contents:
Table of Contents:
ABOUT STEP
ABOUT STEP
Our Students in Transition Empowerment Program is a program administered by Taylor Creek Elementary and Lampasas ISD based on the McKinney Vento Homeless Assistance Act. STEP ensures the educational rights of families and youth by providing free, supportive, education-related services to students, of elementary age, who lack fixed, regular and adequate housing as determined by the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NEHCY) and the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015. The goal of the program is to ensure school stability, remove barriers to full participation in education, and support the academic achievement of our students wihile they are in residential transition.
STEP Eligibility
STEP Eligibility
STEP serves students ages 3-20 in all schools throghout the school district. The STEP program works behind the scenes helping students to remain in thier current school, maintaining school stability, as often as possible and when it is in the best interest of the child.
Any student who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate overnight residence (at any time during the school year) is eligible to receive STEP services for one year.
Students may be found living in the following situations:
- In a shelter, motel, vehicle, camper, or campground
- Temporarily sharing the housing of friends or family (“doubled-up”) due to economic hardship
- Unaccompanied youth living on their own, without a parent or guardian
- Inadequate accommodations (lack of electricity, heat, plumbing, or overcrowding)
- Abandoned buildings, or on the street
- Students who are couch surfing, staying with friends
- Foster care, less than six months in same placement
- Displaced due to natural disaster or fire
School staff involved in identifying students in transition include the on-site STEP specialist (this would be the counselor, Mrs. Jones for TCE), our secretaries, teachers, and administrators. Each of these individuals are tasked with identifying students that may be in need of support.
STEP Services
STEP Services
- Free breakfast and lunch
- School supplies and/or backbacks
- Transportation via school bus
- Academic support and tutoring if needed
- Assistance in obtaining school records, including birth certificates and immunization records
- Clothing for school
- Personal hygiene products
- Referrals for medical and mental health services through Goodside Health or TCHATT.
- Continued attendance in School of Origin if it is determined that this is in the best interest of the child
Students' Educational Rights
Students' Educational Rights
Common Signs of Homelessness
Common Signs of Homelessness
- Irregular attendance and frequent tardiness or early pick-ups
- History of attending many different schools
- Consistent lack of preparation for class (not bringing materials/forms/documents back to school)
- Sleeping in class
- Hostility and ager or extreme behavior
- Food hoarding or stealing
- Poor health or nutrition
- Inadequate seasonal clothing
- Poor hygiene or grooming (wearing the same clothes for days, strange odors)
- Extreme resistance to parting with personal possessions
- Having multiple families living at the same address
- Difficulty reaching parent or guardian by phone
Source: Aratani, Yumiko. (September 2009). Homeless Children and Youth Causes and Consequences. (National Center for Children in Poverty) https://www.tcaps.net/downloads/programs/homeless_children_youth_causes_consequences.pdf
STEP Brochures and Links
STEP Brochures and Links
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