REQ-DASOBO-00060579_Att.A_SOW_F.pdf

ATTACHMENT A – SCOPE OF WORK

McKinney-Vento SOW Page 1 of 4

SchoolHouse Connection (SHC) will conduct a comprehensive needs assessment, landscape analysis, and strategic plan for students experiencing homelessness and the McKinney-Vento program in Oregon. SHC will work closely with ODE as SHC develops and implements the plan.

SHC will pinpoint areas of need, strengths, and where additional supports are needed, including:

● Producing a quantitative analysis of the education outcomes of children and youth experiencing homelessness in Oregon, including issues related to school attendance and success;

● Providing a quantitative and qualitative description of the holistic needs of children, youth, and families experiencing homelessness in Oregon;

● Describing current strengths and areas of improvement in implementation of the McKinney-Vento Act statewide based on identified child, youth, and family needs; and

● Providing a three-to-five-year comprehensive strategic plan with specific measurable targets for educational outcomes (including identification, attendance, and achievement) and specific action steps to attain those outcomes, with timelines.

McKinney-Vento SOW Page 2 of 4

SHC’s comprehensive needs assessment and landscape analysis will include the following activities and deliverables:

1. Data review. What are the current strength and need areas in the education outcomes of children and youth experiencing homelessness?

[Timeline: April 1 – May 31, 2024] (Cost: $20,000)

SHC will analyze data on children and youth experiencing homelessness, to the extent they are available from your department and other sources, including:

a. school attendance;

b. school discipline;

c. school achievement;

d. high school graduation;

e. matriculation into post-secondary education; and

f. early childhood education (ECE) participation (Head Start, early intervention, child care, public preschool).

2. Needs assessment surveys. What is working for children and youth experiencing homelessness in Oregon K-12 schools and ECE programs, and what unmet needs remain?

[Timeline: April 1, 2024 – June 30, 2024] (Cost: $20,000)

SHC will design, launch, and analyze surveys of LEA liaisons, other selected school staff, selected ECE program staff, homeless service providers, and also parents and youth with lived experience of homelessness. Survey questions will identify different perspectives on what is working well in McKinney-Vento implementation as well as unmet needs to support student attendance and success in ECE and K-12 education. Surveys will be administered statewide.

3. Focus groups. A deeper dive into what is working for children and youth experiencing homelessness in Oregon ECE programs and K-12 public schools, and what unmet needs remain.

[Timeline: July 1 – July 31, 2024] (Cost: $50,000)

SHC will meet (virtually or in person) with small groups of selected LEA liaisons, school staff, ECE program staff, homeless service providers, and also parents and youth with lived experience of homelessness to follow up on survey results. Conversations will be targeted to reveal more detail on both strengths and unmet needs, and possible strategies for enhancing strengths and addressing needs. Focus groups will be conducted in up to three regions of the state, for a total of no more than six focus groups.

McKinney-Vento SOW Page 3 of 4

4. Review of current state laws, regulations, and policies that impact children, youth, and families experiencing homelessness as it relates to education. Do state policies support or impede the robust implementation of the McKinney-Vento Act and services to children, youth, and families?

[Timeline: April 1 – June 30, 2024] (Cost: $20,000)

Our team will analyze Oregon Statutes, Administrative Code, and policies, as well as the Oregon Department of Education’s State Plan for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth program and ARP-HCY State Plan. SCH will identify areas in which Oregon laws and policies, and the approaches outlined in the Oregon state plans, help ECE programs and K-12 public schools meet the needs of children and youth experiencing homelessness, and how they might be strengthened to facilitate the improved implementation of the McKinney-Vento Act and provision of supports to ECE programs, K-12 schools, and students experiencing homelessness and their families.

5. Review of current McKinney-Vento activities, strategies, and interventions. What is currently in place in McKinney-Vento programs in Oregon?

[Timeline: June 1, - June 31, 2024] (Cost: $20,000)

SHC will determine current activities through a review of existing subgrant applications and reports, and interviews with a selection of current grantees recommended by the Oregon Department of Education. Do grantees propose measurable outcomes related to student attendance and success? Are grantees meeting those outcomes?

SHC will analyze the efficacy of public schools’ efforts to identify McKinney-Vento students. SHC will compare the numbers of identified McKinney-Vento students by local educational agency (LEA) over a multi-year period to the prevalence of student homelessness indicated in the Youth Risk Behavior Survey nationally and to each LEA’s child poverty rates, wildfire impacts, and other demographics (such as race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation). This analysis will clearly demonstrate the strengths and weaknesses in identification of children and youth experiencing homelessness in each LEA, as well as regionally and statewide.

6. Landscape of resources. What is available outside of school to support children, youth, and families experiencing homelessness?

[Timeline: Completed by August 31, 2024] (Cost: $10,000)

SHC will conduct a high-level review of resources available to meet the needs of children, youth, and families experiencing homelessness outside the education system. SHC will consider health, behavioral health, housing, shelter, food, and transportation needs. SHC will provide an overview of available resources statewide and by region.

McKinney-Vento SOW Page 4 of 4

7. Strategic Plan: What is working well, what are prime areas for improvement and growth, and what is the strategic road map to better educational outcomes for students experiencing homelessness?

[Timeline: Completed by September 30, 2024] (Cost: $10,000)

SHC will analyze all the information gathered and analyzed to determine strengths in McKinney-Vento implementation and activities to meet the needs of children, youth, and families experiencing homelessness. SHC will identify specific areas for improvement and unmet needs. Based on this analysis, SHC will develop a comprehensive, three-to-five-year strategic plan for the state, with specific measurable targets for educational outcomes (including identification, attendance, and achievement) and recommended action steps to attain those outcomes, with timelines.

All work will be performed by a SHC team of individuals with significant experience with data analysis, the McKinney-Vento Act, state and local homeless education program implementation, and the needs of children and youth experiencing homelessness. SHC will partner with local educational agencies receiving McKinney-Vento subgrants, homeless service providers, ECE providers, parents, and students, in addition to your office.

The proposed cost for these services is $140,000. All work shall be completed virtually.