Building School and Community Partnerships

STUDY OF HOMELESSNESS LEADS TO STUDENT ACTION (School News, Oct.. 1994)
Bread and Roses class photo

Reading about homelessness prompted Mrs. Mortillaro's English students to visit the Bread and Roses shelter and to distribute family Halloween Treats.

This annual initiative was launched with a class reading of Mom, Our Home Is Anyplace, the story of two families coping with sleeping in cars and living in shelters.

Students then listened to the coordinator at Bread and Roses and watched a videotape about a young boy who was teased for being a "shelter boy."

Now in its third year, the Halloween treat distribution was the most bountiful ever. Students and staff contributed three cakes, two bags of candy, several individual treat bags, cookies and a card signed by everyone.

Seven years ago I began a program serving a local homeless shelter. The design of this program allowed others to continue after I left. As a result of this earlier work in "service-learning," I was asked to help prepare a strategic plan for "youth service" in Washington State.

HOUSE BILL ANALYSIS H-3691 By Representative Holm An ACT Relating to job search skills and pre-employment training for juveniles placed in juvenile rehabilitation facilities House Committee on Education House Staff: Susan P. AS HEARD BY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION JANUARY, 13, 1988 BACKGROUND: Research on the return of juvenile offenders to the community indicates that completion of their education and employment are important positive indicators of success in the community following incarceration. Currently, there is no special program available in the juvenile institutions to help offenders develop job search and employment skills and to aid in job placement upon release. SUMMARY: The Superintendent of Public Instruction may provide not more than $25,000 to Maple Lane, Green Hill, Echo Glen, Mission Creek and Naselle Youth Camp for the planning and implementation of a job search skills, pre-employment training and job placement program.....The sum of $100,00 is appropriated to the Superintendent of Public Instruction for this purpose for the biennium ending June 30, 1989.

The "job club" I developed at Maple Lane School in 1982 became one of the first in-school programs of its kind. This program served both incarcerated and public school youth.

I turned this program in to student workbook Job Search education, which was published in 1984 . It remains in print to this day! The legislative proposal shown on this page was based on the model at Maple Lane School.

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