Overview of the Rutherford County Schools ATLAS program

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Overview of the Rutherford County Schools ATLAS
program

• Rutherford County Schools
• Kim Snell
• ATLAS Liaison
• [phone]
• snellk_at_rcs.k12.tn.us

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Rutherford County more than Murfreesboro

• Suburban county with urban and rural areas
• 2006 population estimate 228,829
• Murfreesboro 92,559
• Limited public transportation bus service
  located only within Murfreesboro city limits
• 3 shelters, all located in Murfreesboro

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Rutherford County Schools

• Sixth largest school system in Tennessee
• 37,000 students
• 42 schools plus adult education center
• Opening 1-2 new schools every year
• 23 of our schools are located more than 10 miles
  from Murfreesboro 19 are between 15 and 25 miles
  away.

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ATLASAcademic Time Leads to Achieving
Students

• Fulltime ATLAS Liaison
• 2 Itinerant Title I teachers who go to non-Title
  I schools to provide academic support to ATLAS
  students
• ATLAS contact person at each school counselor,
  special ed teacher or Title I teacher

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ATLAS contact person

• ATLAS contact person works with ATLAS students
  and school faculty to ensure the enrollment,
  attendance, and academic success of ATLAS
  students in that school, and to arrange
  transportation and other services.
• Contact person trains school faculty on signs of
  homelessness, rights of homeless students, and
  services available through ATLAS.
• Confidentiality is maintained with regard to
  students ATLAS status.

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ATLAS services

• Immediate enrollment assistance getting records
• Automatic eligibility for federal nutrition
  program
• Tutorial services through Title I for ATLAS
  students in non-Title I elementary schools
• Transportation to remain in school of origin, if
  requested, and if feasible for the student
• Assistance with locating and obtaining medical
  services, social services, etc.
• Referrals to organizations that provide services,
  such as YouthCAN, Early Childhood Network, etc.

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ATLAS Services, continued

• Backpacks of food for weekends, provided by
  Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee
• School supplies, homework supplies, special
  project supplies hygiene supplies
• School clothing when United Way Charity Fund is
  depleted
• Summer camp through Boys Girls Club
• Records transferred immediately upon request,
  even if the child owes money to the school.

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Summary of liaison responsibilities under
McKinney-Vento

• Identification
• Enrollment
• Educational services
• Referrals to other services
• Information about opportunities
• Public notice of educational rights
• Mediation of enrollment disputes
• Transportation
• Collaboration

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This is how we do it
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Identification

• ATLAS contact in every school
• Training of all system personnel
• Student Residency Questionnaire
• Liaison promotes community awareness and
  maintains contact with shelters and other
  agencies.

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Enrollment

• All school administrators, attendance
  secretaries, guidance secretaries, counselors,
  and school bookkeepers have been trained on the
  provisions of immediate enrollment under
  McKinney-Vento.

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Access to Services

• School contact person and ATLAS liaison serve as
  advocates for the student to receive services
  such as preschool, special education testing,
  free meals at school.
• Liaison has trained all school nutrition staff on
  provisions of McKinney-Vento regarding access to
  free meals.

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Referrals to other services

• Health Department Liaison can provide
  transportation for medical and dental visits
• YouthCAN
• Early Childhood Network
• Boys Girls Club summer program
• Other agencies as needed

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Information about opportunities

• Notification of Rights Services form
• ATLAS brochure
• Parent trainings/meetings
• Agency fairs

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Public notice of educational rights

• NCHE posters are displayed in every school and
  are distributed to shelters and relief agencies
  in the community.
• Information about ATLAS is included on the RCS
  website.

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Mediation of enrollment disputes

• There is a procedure in place, with appropriate
  forms.
• In most cases, disputes can be resolved with a
  phone call or personal conference with the
  parent, ATLAS liaison, and sometimes a school
  administrator.

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Transportation

• ATLAS contact completes a Transportation Request,
  faxes it to ATLAS Liaison.
• Liaison takes request to transportation dept.
• Transportation can be arranged either with a
  school bus or gas reimbursement.
• Buses are paid out of the general fund.
• Gas reimbursement is paid with Title X funds.

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Collaboration

• United Way Community Initiatives Steering
  Committee
• Second Harvest Food Bank
• Early Childhood Network
• Homeless Task Force
• Boys Girls Club
• TNCEP Coalition
• Head Start
• YouthCAN

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ATLAS Liaison professional development

• NAEHCY annual conference
• Southern Regional conference
• State trainings/webex
• Other local, regional, national conferences as
  applicable

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ATLAS Facts

• 2003-04 95 ATLAS students identified
• 2004-05 344 ATLAS students identified
• 2005-06 605 ATLAS students identified
• 2005 Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma
• 198 Hurricane displaced students enrolled in
  Rutherford County Schools
• 2006-07 571 ATLAS students identified
• 2007-08 605 ATLAS students identified