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October 27-30, 2012
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Over the years, NAEHCY's annual awards have become an important mechanism by which
the homeless education community recognizes it members who have made outstanding contributions to the field and to serving and supporting children and youth experiencing homelessness. Award recipients are selected
through a screening and selection process overseen by a dedicated committee of
State Coordinators for Homeless Education and other experts in the field. Award winners are recognized
at a special ceremony held during the NAEHCY Annual Conference.
NAEHCY 2010 Annual Award Winners
NAEHCY congratulates the following recipients of its 2010 Annual Awards.
Outstanding School Based Program
2010 Award Winner: Green Bay Public School District, Green Bay, WI
Outstanding Individual Working in a Program
2010 Award Winner: Peggy Miller, Local Homeless Education Liaison, Nampa, ID
Outstanding Service and Leadership
2010 Award Winner: Bill McCullough, Director of Student Services/Local Homeless Education Liaison, Cleveland County Schools, Shelby, NC
Outstanding Media Presentation
2010 Award Winner: Beloit School District and Newist TV 38, “Sixteen Hours Forty Nine Minutes” and “The Hidden Homeless,” Beloit, WI
Sandra Neese Lifetime Achievement Award
2010 Award Winner: Patricia C. Rivera, Manager, Educational Support for Students in Temporary Living Situations (retired), Chicago, IL
Outstanding School Based Program
2010 Award Winner: Green Bay Area Public School District, WI
The Green Bay Area Public School District (GBPS) has exceeded in all areas required by this award category:
- Reflects the standards and indicators set forth by the National Center for Homeless Education
- Compiles hard data to demonstrate academic progress and achievement of homeless students
- Includes a staff training component; and
- Demonstrates strong collaboration between school and community
GPBS has not only shown dedication and effort, but also has adopted an underlying philosophy that serving the needs of homeless children and youth is an essential function of their district.
In reference to the Green Bay Local Liaison, Alison Draheim, one of GPBS' letters of support praised that, "[Alison] takes her work very seriously and is committed not only to serving homeless youth and their families, but to developing and fostering change within our community that will offer long-term, effective changes for all youth and their families."
Christina Endres (l), NAEHCY President, presents Alison Draheim,
GBAPS Local Liaison,
with a 2010 NAEHCY Award
Outstanding Individual Working in a Program
2010 Award Winner: Peggy Miller, Local Homeless Education Liaison, Nampa School District, ID
The Category II award highlights the efforts of those individuals who seemingly "do it all" to provide support to homeless children and youth. Peggy Miller, Local Liaison for the Nampa School District (ID), is described in her nomination as, "a woman who seems to be everywhere there is a need, and she seems to know every available resource for bringing help to those who are struggling."
Peggy works tirelessly to make sure homeless students receive the academic support they need, to support and encourage families in crisis, to increase awareness of homeless education issues in the school and community, to remove barriers, to strive for collaboration, and to ensure that the rights of homeless students are protected. As her nomination letter stated, "[Peggy] quietly moves about her days connecting people with resources, drawing from her deep well of personal energy, and her seemingly limitless pool of resources. She is an amazing person, and she does amazing work for our homeless families." Peggy demonstrates her compassion, will to overcome obstacles, and genuine desire to ease the burdens of struggling kids and families.
Christina Endres (r), NAEHCY President, presents Peggy Miller,
Local Liaison for the Nampa School District (ID),
with a 2010 NAEHCY Award
Outstanding Service and Leadership
2010 Award Winner: Bill McCullough, Director of Student Services, Cleveland County Schools, Shelby, NC
Bill McCullough, Director of Student Services for Cleveland County Schools (Shelby, NC) has served as the district's local homeless education liaison since 2006. Since that time, his colleagues note that Bill's extraordinary service and leadership in the areas of advocacy, partnerships, education, and direct service to children, youth, and families experiencing homelessness have expanded resources and opportunities. Bill's work provides numerous examples of collaboration, partnerships, advocacy, and leveraging of funds to serve homeless students.
Bill
has overseen the growth of rigorous supplemental academic activities for homeless students, including the AVID Program, a Math Academy, summer camp, summer literacy programs, and more. An accomplishment that Bill and his colleagues are most proud of is the remarkable performance by homeless students on the state's end-of-year tests. Students identified by the McKinney-Vento program showed a 10.5 percent increase in math scores and 10.3 percent increase in reading scores. As Bill's nomination indicated, "This is evidence of Bill McCullough's leadership, advocacy, and personal commitment to improving students' academic and lifelong success."
Christina Endres (l), NAEHCY President, presents Jeanne Patterson
(accepting on behalf of Bill McCullough) with a 2010 NAEHCY Award
Outstanding Media Presentation
2010 Award Winners: Beloit School District and Newist/TV 38, Sixteen Forty-Nine
and The Hidden Homeless, Beloit, WI
This year, NAEHCY presented the Outstanding Media Presentation Award to two recipients, both of whom created documentaries about the lives of homeless youth from Wisconsin. Both media productions capture the struggles, hopes, and aspirations of youth preparing to head into an uncertain world.
The documentary, Sixteen Forty-Nine, which was created by Film With a Purpose Studios, is named for the time between the end of one school day and the beginning of the next. Robin Stuht, the producer of the documentary, states, "For some students, that is the longest time in their lives." The documentary features the experiences of Kayla, Cory, and Brandon as they survive on their own, wishing most of all for an adult to care for and be proud of them.
The second production, titled The Hidden Homeless and created by NEWIST/TV 38, follows the lives of four teens as they continue on their educational paths and make plans for life beyond high school. In this documentary, viewers meet Savannah, Amber, Scott, and Justin. Two of these young people have already been accepted to universities, while the other two have dreams of college and careers.
Mattie McVey Lord (l), NAEHCY Vice President, presents Robin Stuht,
Homeless Program Coordinator for the School District of Beloit, with a 2010 NAEHCY Award
Mattie McVey Lord (r), NAEHCY Vice President, presents Kim Schanock, Social Worker,
Green Bay Area Public Schools, (accepting on behalf of NEWIST/TV 38) with a 2010 NAEHCY Award
Sandra Neese Lifetime Achievement Award
2010 Award Winner: Patricia C. Rivera, Manager, Educational Support for Students in Temporary Living Situations (retired), Chicago, IL
NAEHCY's Category VI award is presented annually in memory of Sandra Neese, founding member of Nevada's Education for Homeless Children and Youth office in 1988. Among other opportunities and supports, Sandra Neese established a mentor program for student athletes that thrives to this day. In the fall of 1998, Sandra succumbed to cancer.
Patricia Rivera, this year's Sandra Neese Lifetime Achievement Award winner,
is described as an "absolutely remarkable person who has done great things for Chicago's poorest children… and her work exemplifies the magnanimous spirit, courage, and understanding of Sandra Neese."
Chicago has the nation's third largest school system, with almost 700 schools. During the 2009-2010 school year, more than 15,000 homeless students were identified by Chicago Public Schools, which provides a glimpse into the magnitude of challenges faced by those who manage and deliver services in the district.
Prior to becoming the Chicago Public Schools' Homeless Education Coordinator in 2003, Pat worked in a community-based social services program reaching out to Chicago's Latino community. After receiving her master's degree, she began her long career as a school-based social worker with the Bell School, teaching sign language in English and Spanish to the families of students who had hearing impairments. Pat also became a facilitator for the Chicago Public Schools' Central Office Social Work Unit, creating and executing professional development programs and assisting in clinical services to families. She also trained others as a field instructor for both the University of Illinois' and Loyola University's Schools of Social Work.
During her seven years as the coordinator of Chicago Public School's Homeless Education Program, Pat tripled the number of staff working in the program by enlisting the assistance of Vista/AmeriCorps and social work interns from local universities. She created an outreach program to Chicago family shelters and secured funding to place outreach workers in high-risk schools to work with homeless high school students at risk of dropping out and to facilitate their access to college. She also initiated a project to identify homeless high school seniors who failed to graduate, re-engaging 70 percent of them to attain a diploma. The list of Pat's accomplishments goes on and on.
Patricia Rivera retired in June 2010, and to use the words included in the nomination for this award, "She brought to fruition a long difficult struggle to have homeless students' rights respected and enforced in Chicago."
Patricia Rivera accepts the
NAEHCY 2010 Sandra Neese Lifetime Achievement Award
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