Ally Partner Program

Become an Ally Partner for Prince George’s County Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness

The Ally Partners Program is the McKinney-Vento Program (MVP) office’s new initiative to eliminate generational poverty and homelessness in Prince George’s County. Through this Program, interested adults in our schools, community-based organizations, and county agencies that assist families and youth will receive training on how to become a trusted point of contact for students experiencing homelessness in Prince George’s County.

An Ally Partner is one who has been trained and is identified as an individual to whom students and families experiencing homelessness can go to for help without worrying about being embarrassed or other stigmas. Ally Partners will collaborate with the school-based MVP liaisons to ensure that McKinney Vento guidelines are adhered to while protecting the privacy of students and their families.

To become an Ally Partner, one must:

1. Be a PGCPS employee or community partner who is passionate about the success of at-risk children and youth,
2. Be willing to serve for the 2024-2025 school year,
3. Be willing to have your name and contact information available for public reference on the McKinney Vento Program website under Ally Partners for the 2024-2025 school year,
4. Be willing to display stickers, signs, and posters to identify as an Ally Partner where students experiencing homelessness can confide and seek out resources, and
5. Complete two training sessions to become certified.
   1. One virtual training will be held with a staff member from the MVP Office.
   2. Register to attend one of the virtual training sessions listed below. You will receive a confirmation email containing information about the training.
      

      • Wednesday, October 23, 2024, at 4:30 PM

      • Wednesday, March 19, 2025, at 4:30 PM

   3. The other training will be completed by viewing a live or self-paced webinar through the National Center for Homeless Education (NCHE). 
   4. At the conclusion of the webinar, you will receive a certificate of attendance. Please email a copy of the certificate to Roxanna Melton at roxanna.melton@pgcps.org.  
6. After completing the Ally Partner Training with the MVP Office and the NCHE webinar, you will receive an Ally Partner Program Certificate to certify that you have completed the requirements to be recognized as an Ally Partner for the 2024-2025 school year. The certificate will be valid for one school year.
7. Periodically, Ally Partners will be informed of resources and contacts that can be shared with students and their families. Ally Partners will also be encouraged to share resources with the MVP Office that may benefit students and their families.

For more information, please contact Ms. Roxanna Melton at roxanna.melton@pgcps.org.

Ally Partners