The Family Collective

This training will cover the basics of the federal McKinney-Vento law which addresses the rights of student experiencing homelessness as well as the school district’s responsibilities to serve them.  The HERO Program overview will highlight the services available to students in the Metro Nashville Public School district.

Presenter:

Catherine Knowles Catherine Knowles has served as the Homeless Education Program Coordinator of Metro Nashville Public Schools in Nashville, Tennessee for twenty-three years. During that time The HERO Program for Families in Transition has grown from serving 200 students a year to more than 3,000. Catherine is recognized as a leader and advocate not only in Nashville, but also throughout the state of Tennessee. She currently serves on three state-wide councils under appointments from the Governor as a service provider representing the concerns of families who are experiencing homelessness. She is a member of the Metropolitan Nashville Homelessness Planning Council and Vice President of Unicycle — a local non-profit that provides gently used school clothing to students throughout her local school district of 82,000 students. As a native Nashvillan, Catherine works to involve the whole of her community into supporting her students and families.