Abstract
This case was developed for use in a variety of leadership courses from contemporary issues to policy analysis or school–community relations. A narrative is presented about a superintendent, Kenny, who is faced with two new cases of student homelessness in his affluent suburban community. Students must consider the federal policy context (the McKinney–Vento Act) to analyze the narrative from the perspective of various stakeholders and develop a leadership response. In response to the case, students are able to demonstrate their understanding of federal policy, to identify the challenges of homelessness, and to formulate solutions.
Case Narrative
Kenny Tate was named assistant superintendent of the Sauk Trail School District in the summer of 2011. A suburban district with one high school, two middle schools (Washington and Jefferson), four elementary schools (Eastside, Westside, Southside, and Northside), and about five thousand total students, Sauk Trail is well-regarded throughout the region. Its student test scores are among the best in the state, its athletics program regularly produces state championship teams, and the high school boasts an award-winning arts program. The Sauk Trail community is located just outside of Centerville, a large Midwestern city, and most of its families are upper-middle class and White. More than 95% of the students in the district are White and less than 10% of them qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Before becoming assistant superintendent, Kenny was a physics teacher at Sauk Trail High School for 8 years and then an assistant principal for 4 years at the same school.
Kenny spent the summer months preparing for his new job. Working closely with the superintendent, his old friend Ricky Bonds, he developed an action agenda for his first year that included overseeing the construction of a new high school gymnasium and implementing the district’s new merit pay program for teachers. Given that Kenny was the only assistant superintendent, his duties were quite diverse and he was responsible for carrying out several roles that occupied full-time positions in larger neighboring districts. Undaunted, Kenny was eager to begin the school year and, as late August and early September rolled by, everything was going quite smoothly.
On the morning of Monday, September 27, Kenny was in his office responding to emails when he received a phone call from Pearl Gossard, a third-grade teacher at Eastside Elementary.
Kenny, I really need your help. The mother of one of my students, Eddie, lost her job several months ago and I found out last week that they’ve been kicked out of their apartment and she’s had to move her four kids and all of their belongings to a friend’s apartment. I’m really nervous about this for Eddie . . . and for his three little sisters.
Gosh, I’m sorry to hear about this, Pearl. What do you know about the place where they’re staying now?
I stopped over there this weekend to check on them and it’s not good. This is a two-bedroom apartment and between the two families there are seven children under the age of 12 living in a very small space. The place is an absolute mess and the neighborhood is pretty tough too—it’s right on the Centerville border. Also, that’s in the Westside Elementary area and I don’t know whether we should get Eddie enrolled over there or work out a way to keep him here.
[Kenny replied] This sounds like a hard deal for them. I’d be happy to help you with this, Pearl, but isn’t there someone in your school who knows more about this stuff than me–the counselor or someone like that?
Well, maybe, but Mrs. McCready, the counselor at Eastside, told me to contact you since you’re the district’s homeless liaison.
Kenny paused for a moment and then responded, “OK, sure, let me talk to a few people and get back to you later in the day.” He hung up the phone and shook his head. Kenny did not even know that he was Sauk Trail’s homeless liaison and had no clue what this responsibility entailed. And even if he was the homeless coordinator, or whatever it was called, why did this particular case apply to him? After all, Eddie’s family wasn’t on the streets or in a shelter.
He walked next door to Ricky’s office, popped his head in the door, and asked, “Am I the homeless liaison?”
Ricky was preparing for that evening’s school board meeting and, without looking up from his computer, replied, “Um . . . yeah, I guess . . . ”
Kenny spent the next hour reading about the responsibilities of the district homeless liaison—it was all spelled out in a federal law called the McKinney–Vento Homeless Assistance Act. According to McKinney–Vento, kids who were forced to “double up” were indeed to be considered homeless, and every district in the United States was required to appoint a homeless liaison who is responsible for ensuring that all such students’ rights and responsibilities were upheld.
Kenny’s head was spinning trying to understand the policy’s implications for little Eddie’s situation when Jeff Ament, the district’s school psychologist, walked into his office. Jeff told Kenny that he needed some advice about how to help Jackie Irons, a seventh grader at Washington Middle School who was having a hard time.
Her mom’s live-in boyfriend had been roughing her mom up around the house and when she broke up with him last week, things started getting even worse. She can’t get him out of the house and he beat her up really bad last week. She and Jackie moved into the women’s shelter over in Lander (a neighboring community) to try to get away from him, but for the last 3 days he’s been sitting on the bench across from Jackie’s school and glaring at her when she walks out in the afternoon. She’s freaking out about this! I tried to talk to the shelter staff, but it’s hard to get in touch with them and I’m not even sure school-related stuff is on their radar at this point.
[Troubled, Kenny exclaimed] We need to get her out of that school! Let’s get her into a school that’s near the shelter—the boyfriend won’t be as familiar with that neighborhood and might not even know where she is.
That’s probably true, [Jeff said] but after so many years of struggling in school, Jackie’s finally finding her groove at Jefferson. She’s got a nice set of friends and some teachers who know her learning style—you know, because she’s got some pretty serious learning disabilities . . . I just hate to uproot her from all these things. Do you have any other ideas?
Kenny didn’t. After all the preparation he put in over the summer, this one day was really throwing him for a loop. “Two cases of homelessness in 1 day? What are the odds of this?” Kenny thought to himself. He certainly did not think this was an issue that he was going to be dealing with in Sauk Trail. He had to come up with a plan in a hurry.
Teaching Notes
This case was developed for use in a variety of leadership courses from contemporary issues to policy analysis or school–community relations. A narrative is presented about a superintendent, Kenny, who is faced with two new cases of student homelessness in his affluent suburban community. Students must consider the federal policy context (the McKinney–Vento Act) to analyze the narrative from the perspective of various stakeholders and develop a leadership response. In response to the case, students are able to demonstrate their understanding of federal policy, to identify the challenges of homelessness, and to formulate solutions.
Given the recent economic recession, emerging education leaders will likely face the challenges posed by student homelessness. A national survey by the National Center for Homeless Education, in fact, revealed that more than 75% of districts identified more homeless students during the 2009-2010 school year than they did during 2008-2009 and that, since 2007, there was more than 40% increase in student homelessness across the nation. These increases have occurred in many different types of communities, including places like Sauk Trail that had never previously noted a major problem with student homelessness. As a result, the McKinney–Vento Act has taken on an increasingly visible role. Working as (or in concert with) designated homeless liaisons, school and district-level leaders are charged with developing plans to address this emergent challenge.
Questions
Using the McKinney–Vento Act, the articles by Miller (2009, 2011), and the case narrative presented above, discuss each of the following questions:
According to the McKinney–Vento Act, how is homelessness defined? How does this vary from the Department of Housing and Urban Development definition?
What are the three major purposes of the McKinney–Vento Act’s Education for Homeless Children and Youth (ECHY) program?
What academic and social challenges might Eddie and Jackie face? What challenges do each of these cases pose for Kenny?
How do these challenges resonate with those from Miller (2009)? (Be sure to consider organization-level matters as well as individual ones.)
What rights afforded by the McKinney–Vento Act are most relevant in each of these cases?
In developing action plans, which stakeholders (individual and organization-level) should be considered? How might issues of intra- and interorganizational collaboration come into play for Kenny? How might Lin’s (2000) theory of social capital inform his decision making (refer Miller, 2011)?
If you were in Kenny’s position, what steps and immediate actions would you take to help Eddie and Jackie? What longer range plans would you make?
How might Kenny’s situation be similar and different if he was an assistant superintendent of a large urban district or a small rural district?
Footnotes
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.