Rockdale board hears data on student homelessness; district outlines McKinney‑Vento services and funding

The Rockdale County Board of Education received a detailed briefing on students experiencing homelessness and the district’s McKinney‑Vento supports, including enrollment protections, transportation, referrals to community partners and federal grant funding.

Megan Sayago, director of community, family and student engagement, told the board that Rockdale identified just under 1,600 students experiencing homelessness during the current school year and that identification has increased since 2021, peaking at just over 1,900 in 2023–24. Sayago said the majority of those students — about 86 percent — are “doubled up,” sharing housing with others. The district identified about 134 students living in hotels or motels, 53 staying in shelters and 14 living in other unstable situations such as cars or RVs.

Sayago reviewed McKinney‑Vento protections: immediate enrollment without some required documents; school‑of‑origin transportation when feasible; and an appointed McKinney‑Vento liaison, named by the district as Kathea Brown, who coordinates services, referrals and record recovery. Sayago described past uses of federal relief funds (ARP) to pay for short hotel stays, grocery and clothing vouchers, a community navigator, and transportation vouchers; she said RCPS can no longer use ARP funds but has been awarded a McKinney‑Vento Homeless Education Grant beginning this school year that will run on a three‑year cycle.

The district also described operational supports. Transportation staff coordinate with neighboring counties (DeKalb, Henry, Gwinnett and Newton) to maintain students’ school stability when families are displaced out of county. The district runs an After School Connections program that lets displaced students who live outside Rockdale wait at Rockdale Career Academy for longer days with supervision, homework help and snacks while buses finish routes.

Board members asked how the district identifies families who do not self‑report; Sayago said hotels and community partners often refer families and that school staff, social workers and principals help flag students not attending school. She said the district uses an early‑warning system in its student information system to monitor attendance and grades and that social workers wrap services around identified students, though high caseloads make individualized interventions more difficult as numbers rise.

Sayago urged stronger community collaboration for rent and bill assistance — needs the district cannot meet directly — and said community organizations may contact the district's liaison to coordinate referrals. She also said the district is planning an MV parent advisory panel and increased capacity at school and district levels to better serve students.

The board heard a mix of statistics and real‑world examples to illustrate the district’s work, including a case where staff paid for a one‑night hotel stay and a meal so a displaced family could rest and plan next steps. The presentation underscored transportation and enrollment protections as the most costly recurrent needs, the district said.

The board took no formal vote on the presentation but directed continued collaboration with community partners and noted the new McKinney‑Vento grant as a funding source for the next two years of the three‑year cycle.