Family Links & Support

As school social workers, we are viewed as the link between the school, home and the community.

MTCS Social Workers & Family Liaisons

Courtney Stenseth MTCS Social Worker McKinney Vento Homeless Liaison cstenseth@emailmtcs.org	Wendy Lorenz-Walraven Social Worker wlorenz-walraven@emailmtcs.org	Shannon Weiss Banaadir Elementary sweiss@emailmtcs.org
Rufus Brown P.E.A.S.E. Academy – LDAC rbrown@emailmtcs.org	Sharmarke Elmi Banaadir Elementary – Family Liaison selmi@emailmtcs.org	Mahad Mohamed Banaadir – Family Liaison amohamed@emailmtcs.org
Melinda Perry, PhD MTS Elementary – School Social Worker mperry@emailmtcs.org	Nikki DiVirgilio MN Virtual – School Social Worker ndivirgilio@emailmtcs.org	Kristi Thao MN Virtual – Student Support L-Z kthao@emailmtcs.org
Coya Night Pipe MTS Secondary Family Liaison cnightpipe@emailmtcs.org	Mary Wattley MTS Secondary & Powell Academy Family Liaison/Teen Parent Advocate mwattley@emailmtcs.org	Marisa Rivera Lugo, PhD MTS Secondary & Powell Academy Family Liaison mriveralugo@emailmtcs.org

We are a part of the educational team to promote and support students academic and social success by providing services that may include:

Assessing student needs
Help manage mental health symptoms
Individual and group therapeutic services
Crisis intervention and prevention
Work with both general education and special education students
Advocating for students
Education and training for parents and staff
Information and collaboration with community resources
Knowledgeable about rights for our homeless students and families

School social workers help students to:

Cope with difficult and crisis situations
Develop self-esteem
Learn problem solving, conflict resolution, and healthy decision making skills
Have positive and healthy relationships

Title One Parent Involvement Plans

Local Literacy Plan

Title 1 Parent Involvement Plans and Compacts

Homelessness Key Information

ID Form for Homeless Students

Info for Parents

Info for School-Age Youth

The McKinney Vento Homeless Act provides for educational access, stability, and support to promote school success. This act defines youth homelessness as: “homeless children and youth who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence (within the meaning of section 103(a)(1)); and includes–

(a) children and youth who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; or are abandoned in hospitals;

(b) children and youths who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings;

(c) children and youths who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and

(d) migratory children (as such term is defined in section 1309 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965) who qualify as homeless for the purposes of this subtitle because the children are living in circumstances described in clauses (a) through (c).

If you meet any of the criteria under the McKinney Vento Act, you have rights to maintain educational stability, and get support with eliminating barriers to equal opportunities regarding education. Please contact Courtney Stenseth, Homeless Liaison for MTCS, with questions: 612-405-8456 and/or cstenseth@emailmtcs.org.