LUMBERTON — PSRC’s McKinney-Vento liaison has been appointed to the NC Homeless Education Program Leadership Team as a member to maximize efforts to identify and serve all homeless students in the school district and region.
Shaneitha Nance will use her experience and membership to implement new ways to serve students who are homeless throughout the Sandhills Region and PSRC district. Nance was appointed earlier this month to the role by the NCHEP State Coordinator Lisa Phillips.
“I am extremely honored and excited to be serving on this advisory committee with other liaisons from across the state to ensure consistent collaboration and research of our best practices,” Nance said.
“We want to guarantee that we provide equitable services for our students in transition. I will be representing the Sandhills Region which includes Robeson County. I will share the prospective needs and issues this county faces, in order to make changes that will benefit our children and families in transition,” she added.
The team meets about four times each year and on an as-needed basis. The program is administered through NCDPI, according to information from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. The meetings include a two-day retreat for planning purposes.
“The Leadership Team is an advisory committee made up of homeless liaisons representing each of the prosperity zones for NC. The team works under the direction of the State Coordinator for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) to: identify strategies and services for students experiencing homelessness; address challenges in the delivery of services to homeless students; assist in the development of action plans to improve upon services to homeless students at the local, state, and national level” and more, according to NCDPI.
About The NC Homeless Education Program “NCHEP ensures that all children and youth experiencing homelessness in NC have access to the public education to which they are entitled under the federal McKinney-Vento Act,” according to information on the program’s website.
“Ensuring that state policies comply with federal law, providing technical assistance to NC's local homeless liaisons, and providing informational and awareness materials to educators and the community is a primary goal of NCHEP. Working as the technical assistance center for homeless liaisons in the state ensures each child is identified, enrolled, and is academically successful in school,” according to NCDPI.
For more information about the program, visit https://hepnc.uncg.edu/about/.
