Twice a month during the school year, a collaborative event takes place with Olathe Public Schools to assist its students and their families in need.
“In the Olathe School District, what we truly do is care about each and every student,” said Heather Schoonover, director of community development for Olathe Public Schools. “So we have collaborated with all the social service agencies in Johnson County, and what we do is make sure that they are getting access to work, healthcare, housing, child care assistance, food, utility assistance and any academic need they might have within the school district.”
Rae Daniel / KSHBSchoonover said the need for the program, called McKinney-Vento, is great.
“McKinney-Vento is for those families that lack a fixed, regular, adequate regular nighttime residence,” Schoonover said. “Last school year, we saw 476 of those students within our school district alone.
But she said that’s just the tip of the iceberg.