Student services official: 81 students experiencing homelessness; district asks board for more counseling funding

Miss Keane, the student services presenter for Cheltenham School District, told the Educational Affairs Committee that the district is supporting 81 students experiencing homelessness and 18 students in foster care this school year and asked the board for additional funding to expand counseling and in‑building supports.

The presentation laid out the office’s mission and a menu of services — social workers, mental health and wellness counselors, Lakeside counselors, a student assistance program (SAP), outpatient child-and-family clinic support, EPIC counseling, a drug-and-alcohol counselor at Cheltenham High School, and multiple mentoring programs — and noted extensive community donations of gift cards and supplies that helped about 75 families. "We have 81 students that are experiencing homelessness," Miss Keane said, and later, when asked what she needed to expand services, she replied bluntly: "I just need money."

Why it matters: the update combined program-level detail with data about need and a warning about provider disruption. Miss Keane said Aldersgate, a long-term SAP partner, will close at the end of the school year; the county-funded SAP will continue, but the district will need to…