Brockton schools report nearly 1,000 students eligible for McKinney‑Vento supports; coordinator calls for expanded staffing and services

Shauna Gray, Brockton Public Schools’ McKinney‑Vento liaison, told the School Committee on Feb. 11 that the district identified roughly 960 students who qualified for McKinney‑Vento services as of January, about 6% of total enrollment in November and closer to 9% by the latest count.

Gray said Brockton receives approximately $50,000 this school year through DESE’s McKinney‑Vento funding (FC310 grant) and that those dollars are supporting resource coordinators and targeted programs at Brockton High School, weekend food programs run with Blessings in a Backpack and the Charity Guild, small after‑school tutoring pilots and weekend/holiday program subsidies. She said those funds “absolutely are not enough” to meet the district’s needs and urged increased capacity and better data systems.

Why it matters: high student mobility and homelessness are strongly associated with attendance and learning disruptions. Gray showed national and local data and described program elements that aim to preserve educational stability—transportation to a school of origin, immediate enrollment despite missing paperwork and coordinated referrals to services.

Gray outlined practical supports already funded and in use: emergency school uniforms for McKinney‑Vento students, weekend food distributions that serve about 600 students each, pilot after‑school tutoring at select schools and subsidized transportation for some after‑school programs. She said the district is funding small numbers of students for Smart Start vacation programs to maintain continuity during school breaks, and purchased supplemental uniform stock for uniformed schools.

Gray said transportation is a large logistical and cost burden because McKinney‑Vento law requires districts to provide transportation comparable to what peers receive and to continue that transportation through the end of the school year even when a family’s living situation changes. She reported that about 200 students were being transported from outside the district and that about 29 students were sheltered out of district and transported in (figures Gray said she would confirm in writing).

On staffing and program design, Gray urged building a larger office rather than a single liaison. She called for a central database to track eligibility, interventions and outcomes so the district can measure what works, maintain accurate rosters and report reliably to the state. She described a wish list schools raised in interviews: on‑site clothing/toiletry closets, accessible laundry support or laundry passes, expanded Blessings in a Backpack coverage, and more casework or family‑focused case management.

Superintendent Dr. Taheliani and committee members sought financial and operational detail. Committee members asked for a funding breakdown and for figures the district will include in budget planning and transportation subcommittee work. Gray said the DESE McKinney‑Vento grant amount for Brockton this year is about $50,000; she said that amount “is not enough” and that additional local or philanthropic supports are being used to fill gaps.

Gray closed by reading a brief poem about the daily obstacles some students face that echoed the presentation’s central theme of “readiness to learn.”

Next steps: Gray asked for formal consideration of a small office expansion, a school‑level point person in each building, and a district database to measure interventions’ effects. She said she will provide exact, updated counts and transportation numbers to the committee for upcoming budget and transportation planning.