At Sycamore Creek Elementary School, our goal is to meet all needs of our students throughout the school year. Most community events require vouchers and are a bus ride or more away from the recipient’s location, making it challenging for them to receive resources. We partner with local organizations to help student's who need resources surrounding food, housing, and clothing . If you are in need of clothing or housing resources please reach out to the school social worker.
- 25% of NC children under 5 go to bed hungry
- 2,200+ children are registered in Wake County public schools as homeless
- 170,200 people in NC receive emergency food assistance every week
- 80% of NC households with children who receive food assistance do not know
where their next meal is coming from
Eligibility
The McKinney-Vento Act (42 U.S.C. § 11431 et seq.) is a federal law that addresses the needs of children and youth experiencing homelessness. The law defines homeless to include the following temporary living situations due to hardship:
Living with a friend, relative or other person
Hotel or motel
Shelter or transitional housing
Car, park or other public place
Campground or inadequate home
Youth living on their own, runaway youth or youth kicked out
The McKinney-Vento Act addresses educational challenges created by homelessness and guarantees students the right to enroll, attend, and succeed in school.
The federal legislation is also included in Wake County Public School System's school board policies: 6200R&P, 6201, 6201R&P, 7105 and 7160.
Why is this important?
Students experiencing homelessness may change schools frequently. Learning is impacted as students must adjust to new environments, new curricula, and new teachers and classmates, while still learning the same information other students are expected to master. The loss of a home can be traumatic, leaving children and youth with tumultuous feelings that can impact their social and intellectual wellbeing. Limited access to food, medical care, and basic school supplies can also impact performance in the classroom (NCHE, 2014).