The Champaign Unit 4 School District and the Champaign Federation of Teachers are joining together this week to participate in a campaign to raise awareness about homeless and hungry families in the district.
National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week takes place each year during the week of Thanksgiving.
“When a child’s basic needs are not being met out in the community, it is difficult for them to focus on learning while at school,” Superintendent Judy Wiegand said. “In order to provide a top quality education for all of our students, we must examine the issues of hunger and homelessness and how they intersect with the work we do as educators. These children and families are part of our Unit 4 Family, and their struggles are real. We are shining a light on the needs that exist so that we can continue to make strides in aligning existing resources and emerging opportunities to tackle these issues one child and one family at a time.”
District officials said 98 Unit 4 families and 138 individual students are homeless and they expect that number to rise above last year's number of 179 students by the school year's end.
To address the issue, Unit 4 works with the Eastern Illinois Foodbank to supply on campus food banks at both high schools. The district also maintains a full-time homeless liaison to work with administrators, teachers and staff on connecting families to other community resources.
The district's Social Justice Committee includes a Homeless Action Committee meant to help meet the needs of homeless students and families. Going forward, Unit 4 officials are also considering community schools models at Stratton, Booker T. Washington, and Garden Hills. Community schools are those that extend themselves beyond educational centers to offer a centralized point for vital community services and activities.
The district said the issue of homeless students and families is a fast growing concern in Illinois and across the country. According to the U.S. Department of Education, there were a record 1.36 million homeless students in America during the 2013-2014 school year, double the number from 2006.
Alerts Sign-up