District 211 recognized for serving homeless students

The Board of Education for District 211 was presented with an award Thursday recognizing its service to homeless students.

The district's superintendent, Nancy Robb, and a handful of other school officials had been especially “instrumental and passionate” about serving the homeless students who attend Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 schools and making them feel at home while they attend class, said Thomas Bookler, a homeless advocate for children and youth.

The district is also very considerate of nontraditional homeless students, such as unaccompanied youth who were rejected at home, ran away or chose to “couch surf” at friends' houses, said Bookler.

District 211 board President Robert LeFevre Jr. accepted the award from the North Cook Intermediate Service Center's director, Bob Ingraffia. The center serves the learning needs of students of all ages with school improvement and professional development for educators.

Bookler, who works at the center, said that as of June about 1,200 students in the North Cook County suburbs have been identified as homeless. About 25 percent of the state's more than 390,000 homeless students live in the Chicago suburbs, he added.