Schools
Boulder Valley School District: ‘I Just Want To Cradle Each Of Them.' McKinney-Vento Specialist Works To Support The 800+ Students
On Dec. 30, when news of Marshall Fire reached Lyman, she was at home on winter break and she immediately knew the magnitude of the impact.
January 25, 2022
Most people do not realize that on a normal basis, the Boulder Valley School District has about 300 students who do not have permanent housing. In just a matter of hours, on Dec. 30, three times that many students were displaced as the Marshall Fire destroyed more than 1,000 homes, damaged hundreds more and forced the evacuation of thousands.
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For the past decade, half of her career at BVSD, Ema Lyman has been the person working to remove as many barriers as possible for homeless students, so that they are able to attend and succeed in school, regardless of their situation.
As the district’s McKinney-Vento specialist, she is a constant for students and families who are often in very turbulent situations. The federal McKinney-Vento program, which started as a way to support runaway children in California in the mid-80s, works to build some stability by clearing the way for enrollment and, whenever possible, providing them some stability by keeping them in the same school. So no matter their situation, they continue to be surrounded by educators who care and a network of friends.
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Lyman works tirelessly to ensure that every student who is eligible for the program is supported through free lunch, waived fees, and access and transportation, as well as access to a plethora of resources in the community to help meet their needs.
On Dec. 30, when news of the Marshall Fire reached Lyman, she was at home on winter break and she immediately knew the magnitude of the impact.
“I knew exactly where the fire was taking place and I already had an idea of the affected schools and school communities,” Ema said with a pause. “I knew immediately that my caseload would go up.”
The night of the fire, she was already receiving referrals from schools in the fire area and by the next evening a form was sent to all families so that they could let us know if they had been impacted.
“They were coming in furiously,” Lyman remembered.
On New Year’s Day, Lyman reported for work at 6 a.m. and worked until 8 p.m., just the first in what would be many long days of processing students. Supported by extra clerical help, her growing team would eventually add more than 800 new students to the McKinney-Vento list.
“In regular times, I connect with the family directly. I extend external supports like shelter, food and clothing,” Lyman said. “With the sheer number of students coming in, there was no way that I could personally connect with each and every family. That was delegated to the schools.”
The nature of the situation made these efforts even more difficult.
“Many families didn’t have a stable displacement location immediately. They were in a hotel or a friend’s house for a couple of nights. There was a lot of mobility,” Lyman said. “Those first days were mostly question marks. Much of the time we just provided the message that we were here and that we were providing mental health support for all.”
Now, a few weeks later, every student on the list is being supported.
“Even if they are displaced to other cities, nearby of course, we keep them enrolled and we provide the transportation and we provide all the supplies needed for success in education,” Lyman said.
Many families are receiving RTD passes or gas reimbursement to make it easier to get their students to their school of origin. Providing school buses has been a bit harder because of bus driver shortages, given the tight labor market nationwide and the impacts of the pandemic,
“It has been a perfect storm with COVID and this disaster,” Lyman admitted.
She, however, says that the entire BVSD team is committed to working though transportation challenges, as well as being there for students for as long as they need support after these traumatic events.
“We always have been and always will be. That is what we do,” Lyman said. “We are all educators. We may not all be teachers, but we are all educators, and the compassion that we show for our community is always present.”
An $86,000 federal grant received before the fire will also help tremendously. The money, designated for homeless students through the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Act, will help pay for tutoring, counseling and other assistance for the district’s homeless students.
READ MORE: Daily Camera - BVSD uses grant to add tutoring, counseling for students experiencing homelessness
Even so, she says the pure magnitude of this tragedy and the number of students is overwhelming.
“We basically go one day at a time. We are constantly looking at the forest and at the tree – it is a parallel effort,” Lyman said. “It is hard not to be able to embrace and cradle each family myself, because that is usually what I do, but now I get to cradle all the staff that are supporting them.”
The outstanding efforts of this team have not gone unnoticed. Recently Colorado Governor Jared Polis called to show his appreciation.
“I just wanted to thank you for all your work with BVSD and all of the families that lost their homes – struggling with a place to live during the Marshall Fires – just to let you know as a state how appreciative we are of the work that you and BVSD are doing to help with the uninterrupted education of the kid. Take care and thank you,” Polis said in a voicemail message.
Lyman, who shys away from the limelight, says she hopes the focus will bring light to the ongoing needs of students who will continue to experience housing insecurity, even after most families impacted by the Marshall Fire resettle. She says that the outpouring of support has already greatly helped them.
“All of our clothing and food banks are filled to the brim because of this event,” Lyman said. “For instance, before I would have been calling here and there for support for our newly arrived Afghan families, but right now I don’t have to. There is plenty for everyone.”
If you or someone you know does not have permanent housing because of the Marshall Fire or any other reason, learn more about the supports available and send us a referral through the BVSD McKinney-Vento page.
This press release was produced by the Boulder Valley School District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.