‘Transformational’ new CPS positions will help students who are homeless

Months of debate over one of the Chicago Teachers Union’s key contract demands, affordable housing, led to a breakthrough in teacher negotiations last fall: Chicago Public Schools has agreed to hire new staff members to help kids deal with homelessness and other temporary living situations.

Though news of the positions was widely shared when the deal was reached as part of the agreement to end the teachers strike, all involved have spent the time since then discussing the finer details and mechanics of what many view as a significant benefit to a district that last year had more than 16,000 kids without a permanent home.

Half of the students are concentrated in 10 South and West side wards. Though 36 percent of the district’s students are African American, 81 percent of homeless students are black, according to the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless.

The CTU is hosting an informational session at 5 p.m. Tuesday at its headquarters, 1901 W. Carroll, to help families and teachers understand homeless students’ rights.

“This will be the first opportunity that we know of where our members are all getting together to discuss these issues,” said Sarah Rothschild, a CTU education policy analyst. “Really elevating this issue [is important].”

The added help comes as a relief to those who have long argued that factors outside of school buildings have as much or more of an impact on kids’ outcomes as test scores and homework. Now, the district sees the idea as a game changer.

“Their needs are very complex,” said Molly Burke, executive director of CPS’ Student Support and Engagement Department. “And the impact of their instability has a significant impact on their attendance and ability to concentrate in the classroom. So these new resources that are dedicated to … addressing their trauma I think are going to have a significant impact on their success.”

The new positions, called school community representatives, will go into schools that have at least 75 students living in those situations. Schools that have 140 or more such students will get two new staff members.

The school community reps will help families apply for fee waivers and understand their rights, as well as provide resources such as CTA passes, school uniforms and school supplies. And in many cases, they’ll work to identify students as homeless who have gone under the radar and aren’t getting the necessary support.

In all, 15 schools will get the positions, with three schools getting two school community reps and 12 getting one. CPS human resources head Matt Lyons said the list of schools couldn’t yet be shared because the district is still working to inform principals and isn’t posting the jobs for another week or two.

Meanwhile, workers at other schools who help homeless kids in addition to their other duties will for the first time receive stipends of $1,000-$3,000.

“Even though it’s not a huge stipend, it’s a big, big step politically at the school level in highlighting the importance of the work that they do,” Rothschild said.

The Chicago Coalition for the Homeless has already been working with the district on annual training for school staff on how to best aid students who are homeless, and the nonprofit is helping develop these new positions.

“Having one dedicated person fulfilling those responsibilities is going to be really transformational for those students,” said Patricia Nix-Hodes, director of the coalition’s free legal services program. “I think it will really change the direction of students’ lives.”