Clayton County Schools is drafting its social workers in a fight to keep residents of the south metro community from falling behind on their bills ― and help keep students from changing schools because of housing instability.
The school system said Tuesday it has partnered with Housing Plus, the Clayton County Community Service Authority and UGA Extension Services to provide rent, mortgage and utility assistance for families impacted financially by COVID-19.
“Our goal is work with our families to connect them to resources to assist and decrease transition for our children during this difficult time,” said Angela Horrison-Collier, the district’s director of student services.
The announcement comes as Clayton school leaders worry that the numbers of housing insecure families will increase next year if a national moratorium on evictions ends Dec. 31 as scheduled.
The district has said that at least 4% of Clayton County students transfer between several schools every year because of housing insecurity. Leaders believe that number could grow to 10% in 2021.
Students who move from school to school don’t maintain a strong academic structure because of uncertainty in their lives, Horrison-Collier said. That would compound learning losses the district expects this academic year because of its decision to stick with virtual-only classes during the first semester.
“The number of referrals that we’ve gotten just in the past 24 hours since we started this is overwhelming,” she said.
Interested parents should reach out to social workers of their child’s school if they need help. While the semester ends on Friday, Horrison-Collier said she suspects social workers will continue to reach out to families well into part of next week.
The list of school social workers can be found here: https://sites.google.com/clayton.k12.ga.us/ccpsschoolsocialworkers/school-social-workers.
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