Partners: Elk Grove Unified School District

Many issues that impact children may present as a learning disability or behavior problem, and actually begin outside of school; the impact of poverty, sources of stress within the family, homelessness, unemployment, or a sudden traumatic event can all potentially impact student performance at school--both academically and behaviorally. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs helps us understand the implications of these forces in a child's life. Often times, providing assistance to a student and family with these issues are well beyond the scope of a school site or district.

Health Start Family Centers in our district serve as a conduit to numerous resources available to families. Elk Grove Unified School District has developed partnerships with over 40 community support agencies, both publicly and privately funded, to help provide support to families in need. While navigating the maze of programs and services can be a very frustrating process for schools and families without support, in our district, when a referral is submitted for a family, staff evaluate the needs, and contact the appropriate agency in advance.

Many times, when an issue of need is raised regarding one student, there are siblings at other schools who exhibit the same needs. When one student is identified, a search is completed to identify siblings and their respective school sites, the agency or agencies relevant to their issues, and a meeting is scheduled with the family, staff from involved school sites, and representatives of the respective agencies. Resources are made available to the family, a plan is put into place for the students involved, and progress is monitored for the individual students involved.

The resources available to families cover a wide range of possible options; counseling services, job training and employment, medical and dental resources, food stamps, emergency shelter, and emergency financial aid are just some of the possible resources. Additionally, issues such as school attendance are also supported. As a result of our partnership with our District Attorney; If there is no legitimate excuse for the pattern of absence, the parent is arrested and taken into custody. As a result, our district ADA has increased by three days per year for the entire student population.