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Chino Valley Unified School District

Student Achievement - Safe Schools - Positive School Climate

Homeless Innovation Program (HIP) - Toolkit

Welcome to HOPE!

Chino Valley Unified School District (CVUSD) offers a unique approach to supporting McKinney-Vento students and families through the HOPE Program. This program is made possible by extensive and integrated city and community partnerships that have allowed the district to offer intensive case management to all of its students, ages 0-21, including its MV-eligible students. This alliance-based model has been crucial to serving the needs of our students and families.

We believe this alliance-based model offers a valuable way for districts to support their MV liaison and expands the support available to MV students and families. It also hopefully alleviates some of the burden on McKinney-Vento district liaisons who often are tasked with high caseloads and few supports.

Through this toolkit, we want to offer what we have learned to other Local Education Agencies (LEAs) looking to enhance support for their McKinney-Vento students. We have pulled together tools, resources, and advice that we wish we had when starting out.

Our goal is not to offer a replicable formula but rather to provide starting points, inspiration, ideas, and tangible tools to grow the foundation of support for MV-eligible students and families and increase the impact on students, schools, and communities.

A group of people stand together outdoors, holding large letters that spell 'HOPE'.

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HOPE Program Homepage

About this Project

The HOPE Toolkit is made possible by a two-year Homeless Innovation Program (HIP) grant through the Homeless Education program of the California Department of Education.

The purpose of the HIP grant is to identify innovative practices previously implemented and aligned with the provisions of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to improve the educational stability, access, support, and academic achievement of children and youth experiencing homelessness. The primary charge of the HIP grant is to build capacity at the local level to implement systemic changes that improve student outcomes for students experiencing homelessness.

CVUSD received the HIP grant for 2022-2024, in recognition of innovative practices in city-community partnerships and staffing models. The HOPE Toolkit is focused on supporting other Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) in adopting these practices to augment and expand support for McKinney-Vento youth.

Erin Oeth, LLC served as lead external consultant in the development of this toolkit in conjunction with the HOPE Support Services Team. Sarah Boxx, LLC of SandBoxx Productions served as the project manager for the production of the impact videos, along with Ken Fay as Director of Film and Production.  All tools and templates are made available free of charge for educational use by other LEAs and communities with attribution.

A special thanks to the administration, staff, partners, and families who participated in this project and helped make our work visible and shareable with others. Thank you for your investment in bringing HOPE to our CVUSD families and now to communities around the state and beyond.

Henry Ford said it best when he said, “Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success.” We welcome you to check out our digital flipbook to explore our journey and discover more about the Toolkit. 

HOPE Toolkit Flipbook

As you learn more about the Toolkit, be sure to reference each guide to set yourself up for success!

Partnering with LEA

Partnering with Local Government

Partnering with Faith-Based Organizations

Partnering with Prisons

How HOPE Began

Check out the following videos to learn more about the HOPE program and hear directly from our students and families, city and community partners, case managers, and colleagues who comprise the HOPE family. Hear about the impact of HOPE on our CVUSD students and our community and be inspired as you consider how to bring HOPE to your community using the toolkit below.

  • First Day Every Day (5:41) - Meet a family served by HOPE and learn about the ways HOPE meets needs and helps students succeed. 
  • There's a Reason to HOPE (5:15) - Hear from city and community leaders who come together to support HOPE in order to identify and meet the needs of students and families.
  • HOPE In Action (9:33) - Hear from several community partners who come alongside HOPE to invest in families and learn more about the collaborative partnerships behind HOPE.
  • HOPE for Tomorrow (4:44) - Meet another family served by HOPE and hear from a case manager about how the program works to encourage others to reach out for help through HOPE. 

How to Use The HOPE Toolkit

This toolkit focuses on equipping LEAs to explore fully integrated city & community partnerships, ways to expand their staffing and support for MV students, as well as practical tips on potential funding streams, assessment & reporting, and outreach & marketing. These five areas are key components of what makes the CVUSD McKinney-Vento program, affectionately dubbed the MV CARE Program, a strong foundation of support for our students and families as they reclaim hope and move toward success inside and outside of the classroom. Feel free to move through the modules in any order to access areas of increased interest and relevance. 

 

This Toolkit is Divided into Five Sections

Each of these five sections of the toolkit includes an overview of the section and a pre-assessment for use in considering needs and ideas for each area of focus. A PowerPoint module and a downloadable resource guide provides the content for each section, along with tangible tools for easy use and adaptation. Each section also includes a guided reflection and action planning guide that provides easy- to-use worksheets to assist in planning and implementing the discussed concepts. 

In the final section of the toolkit, we provide opportunities to access additional support and guidance and offer some concluding thoughts on adapting these tools for different communities and contexts. 

Supplemental Resource Guide

Browse the guide below to access downloadable tools and templates relevant for each section of the toolkit. These documents are offered as examples and models from the HOPE team that can be customized to suit different needs and contexts. This guide outlines the purpose of each resource and how it is used by the HOPE team, along with a downloadable link. These resources are made possible free-of-charge for adaptation and customization by other LEAs or communities. To access resources, click the applicable link below for each section.

 

  • Section 1- Fully Integrated City- Community Partnership
  • Section 2- Staffing & Case Management
  • Section 3- Funding & Resources
  • Section 4- Assessment, Tracking & Reporting
  • Section 5- Outreach & Marketing