2009 NAEHCY Awards Recipients

Margo Hurrle
Outstanding Individual Working in a Program

Allan Jones
Outstanding Service and Leadership

Jennifer Pringle
Outstanding Service and Leadership

Claudia Solis-Alcala, Producer
Valley Public Television, Fresno, CA
Outstanding Media Presentation

Russell "Rooster" Valentini
Sandra Neese Lifetime Achievement Award

Elizabeth Hinz (left) and Margo Hurrle (right)

Margo Hurrle, winner of this year’s award for Outstanding Individual Working in a Program, is known by the children and youth she serves as “the school lady” because she is the person who is always asking them how school is going. In her role as the Shelter Office Coordinator for Minneapolis Public Schools, she provides support to nearly three dozen shelters in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, ensuring immediate enrollment for homeless students, providing school supplies, working with families, and conducting many other critical tasks.

Margo has been the first point of entry to education in Minneapolis for children and youth experiencing homelessness for 18 years. She has an uncanny ability to understand the needs of children and youth experiencing homelessness. She uses this ability to build confidence in homeless students and their families that education is the key to a better future. Letters supporting her nomination included statements like, “Margo continually amazes us with her dedication to children… She often will still be working and coordinating for the students long after we have all gone home for the day.”

Margo is described by her colleagues as a gift to their schools and the community. “When people say that this work could not be done without Margo, it is not an exaggeration.” Margo inspires her colleagues to treat children and families with similar compassion and respect. Her hard work and dedication has and will continue to have an impact on the lives of students for many years.

Honorable Mention
Outstanding Individual Working in a Program

Two awards for Honorable Mention were announced in this category.
Brenda Dowdy, Homeless Education Program Specialist, San Bernardino County Schools, was recognized for her hands-on work with homeless children and youth.
In addition, Wayne Harris and Jean Regnier were honored for their outstanding work and advocacy for homeless youth through their work with the Students in Temporary Housing program, Brooklyn Integrated Service Center, New York City Department of Education.

Melinda Dyer (left) and Allan Jones (right)

Allan Jones is the Director of Pupil Transportation for the Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. He is responsible for the oversight of transportation for Washington’s 295 school districts and their efforts to operate 9,300 school buses driven by 10,600 bus drivers on more than 500,000 miles of roads every day. No small task!

In addition to his many duties, Allan has made it his personal priority to ensure that every homeless student is transported safely to and from school, and that every district is aware of the transportation rights of homeless students under the McKinney-Vento Act. Allan routinely participates in and presents at statewide local homeless education liaison trainings. He has even provided a copy of a documentary on childhood homelessness to each school district so that their bus drivers can view it and understand the issues facing the students they serve. Allan makes sure that his colleagues are informed about the federal requirements for transportation and school stability; however, he also believes that it is equally important for them to know why the McKinney-Vento Act contains these provisions. Allan’s support for homeless children and youth extends beyond the borders of Washington State. Allan has participated in conversations about how homeless transportation might be better funded at the state and national levels, and he has invited NAEHCY leadership to speak to the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services so that all state transportation directors could hear about the needs of homeless children and youth. This level of information sharing would not have been possible without Allan’s intentional focus on the issue of childhood homelessness and his commitment to train those who provide transportation to our homeless and highly mobile kids.

Melinda Dyer, Washington’s State Coordinator for Homeless Education, affirms that, "Allan can always be trusted to deliver the right message at the right time and in the right way.” Time and again, he has demonstrated his commitment to serving our most vulnerable students, and he consistently does so with patience, humor, and a calm demeanor. One of the letters received in support of his nomination proclaimed, “In a national context, I am not aware of any state pupil transportation director who has so fully, constantly, and bravely supported the McKinney-Vento Act. Despite inadequate budgets and statewide controversy, Allan has never weakened in his support of the rights of homeless students. He is an advocate and a leader who truly deserves NAEHCY’s recognition.”

Jennifer Pringle (left) and Pat McGuirk (right)

Jennifer Pringle, also a winner of the Outstanding Service and Leadership award, serves as the Project Director for the New York State Technical and Education Assistance Center for Homeless Students. Jennifer began her legal career with an Equal Justice Works Fellowship, and later became increasingly focused exclusively on education law. An excerpt from one of her letters of support reads, “Other professionals should hold her as their standard for excellence. I haven’t met anyone who has put herself out on a limb to help children and youth more than Ms. Pringle.”

Jennifer has worked to ensure that school districts across New York have the information and resources they need to identify and serve students in temporary housing more effectively. By 2005, Jennifer began collaborating formally with New York school districts, the State Education Department, andinnumerable agencies and organizations whose work relates to the educational rights of students experiencing homelessness. Another letter of support reads, “Over the past several years, Jennifer has established herself as one of the leading experts on the education of homeless children and youth in New York State. Thanks to Jennifer’s intelligence, hard work, and vision, more school districts throughout the state are both identifying students as homeless and complying with the requirements of the McKinney-Vento Act. As a direct result of her efforts and the technical assistance program she designed, countless youngsters in New York have gained the educational stability and success they surely deserve.”

Claudia Solis-Alcala

Claudia Solis-Alcala, producer for Valley Public Television in Fresno, CA, manages, produces, and directs the weekly television program 0 to 5 in 30 Minutes!. This show focuses on issues important to pregnant mothers, parents, and caregivers of children up to age five. In finding content for the program, she searches for stories that are important to the community and its viewers.

One such story focused on Project ACCESS, Fresno Unified School District’s Homeless Education Program. Beginning with an explanation that all students, including those experiencing homelessness, have the right to a free, appropriate, public education, the program directs parents to contact the homeless education office for assistance with enrolling, attending, and succeeding in school. The presentation is sensitive to the stigma of homelessness and uses the term “families in transition” to explain who qualifies for services under the McKinney-Vento Act. It emphasizes the need for parents to be informed of their rights so they can advocate effectively for their children. The story includes visuals of children engaged in classroom activities independently and in conjunction with their teacher, emphasizing the challenges that homeless children have remaining focused on school work when their basic needs remain unmet. The focus is placed on working holistically with the family to meet a full range of academic and social emotional needs of the students. The messages provided about students experiencing homelessness are positive, current, and factual. The video is comprehensive enough for training about homeless education rights across all disciplines.

Russell "Rooster" Valentini

Russell "Rooster" Valentini is the local homeless education liaison for the Allentown School District, Allentown, PA. For more than 20 years, in his humble and unassuming way, Rooster has made a positive difference for all the children, youth, families, and professionals with whom he has been in contact. From his nickname to his style, to his unique approach, Rooster is a true original, a master of creative problem solving and relationship building. Rooster’s mission is to have all children feel equal to one another, to make sure all children receive quality academic opportunities, and to make sure that the education of students experiencing homelessness is not disrupted because of housing instability.

Because of his attention, many students go to school when they otherwise may not. They have food to eat and clean clothing; but most importantly, they feel cared about. A high school senior wrote, “With Rooster’s help, I am able to succeed.” Rooster contacts local shelters almost daily and participates in community coalitions to advocate for services for families and children. He helps shelters find ways to accept doubled-up families, despite HUD’s regulations. He writes poetry related to children, youth, and families experiencing homelessness that is so powerful that it is highlighted in local, state, and national publications. Rooster uses his creativity in other ways as well: To go around, under, over, or through any inflexible policies that might stand in the way of helping homeless children achieve stability in school and success in life.

According to his nomination letter, Rooster, "has an uncanny knack of being able to counter resistance and prejudice with the right blend of referring to the law, using common sense, evoking compassion, and insisting on doing the right thing for students.” A tireless advocate for families and children, Rooster serves as the voice for people experiencing homelessness in schools and government agencies, and at community events in the Allentown area. Rooster is a leader, an advocate, an educator, and a poet who has spent decades in service to children and youth.