Sana Ali-Jackson, the Homeless Liaison education social worker for Atlanta Public Schools (APS), has been selected as the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) 2023-2024 McKinney-Vento (MKV) Program Liaison of the Year for her dedication and passion in supporting APS students.
Praised for her tireless advocacy, contributions, and continuous service to the community, Ali-Jackson was honored by State School Superintendent Richard Woods on September 24 during the annual Georgia McKinney-Vento Liaison conference. She was selected based on numerous letters of recommendation, a completed application, as well as past interviews and support programs she has successfully implemented.
Shantel Tate, an APS foster care social worker, said the honor is a testament to Ali-Jackson’s hard work and dedication to ensuring that McKinney-Vento students are successful and have educational stability. In her nomination letter, Tate credited Ali-Jackson with providing homeless students with resources and supports such as transportation services to and from school, gas and Uber/Lyft cards, emergency hotel assistance, donation of new shoes and underwear, and assistance with food, uniforms, and household items.
“Sana is so deserving of the 2024 GaDOE Homeless Liaison of the Year as she is the true definition of a homeless liaison,” Tate wrote. “She ensures our MKV students’ rights are not violated and that they have access to school. She is a true advocate, she works hard to partner with businesses in the community to support the program, and she is an innovative thinker. She works hard daily and never complains about the workload.”
Ali-Jackson said that she is extremely humbled to receive the award.
“The work that I do for our students is something that I’ve never needed a pat on the back for. I never needed any accolades. I do the work because it’s a passion of mine,” Ali-Jackson noted. “However, it is so rewarding when your colleagues are able to recognize you, your hard work, all of the passion that you put into the work. It doesn’t go unnoticed, and it just lets me know that we’re on the right track and we’re doing something right. It’s a wonderful confirmation that we’re headed in the right direction.”
Supporting families and improving her community has always been at the core of Ali-Jackson’s work. A native of the San Francisco Bay area and graduate of North Atlanta High School, she began her social work career in California more than 20 years ago before joining APS in March 2019 as the district’s homeless liaison. In her role, Ali-Jackson ensures that students and their families who are experiencing homelessness receive the supports and resources they need to have access to a free and appropriate education. This involves ensuring there are policies and protocols in place to remove barriers that families often encounter for school stability, school access, and academic success.
A key part of her job also includes ensuring that enrollment and identification policies remain equitable to homeless students, and that those policies are implemented at the district level so that barriers can be removed. The district currently services about 1,000 homeless students.
“We look at some of the programs and services that will help students be academically successful, like tutoring, technology assistance, and computers. But we also address some of the basic needs that these families have in order to really be successful,” Ali-Jackson said. “If a student is hungry, sleepy, doesn’t have clean clothes, we really look at implementing programs that help with basic needs as well. This means food, clothing, housing assistance, making sure that their basic needs are met, so that when they do walk through the doors of the school, they can concentrate, listen, stay awake. Those things are really, really important to whether or not the student can function once they walk in the door.”
Providing equitable support and access to resources for all homeless students remains the most important aspect of her job. In addition to training social workers and other district staff, Ali-Jackson writes grants and collaborates with staff to ensure that students receive nutrition, transportation, counseling, psychology services, and more.
Homeless students receive assistance and services related to FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and scholarships, as well as shelters, hotels, and other places where families can find the support they need. Ali-Jackson partners with key community organizations to help students and their families obtain transportation, temporary hotel vouchers, gas and grocery cards, emergency clothing, and other pertinent resources.
“It’s extremely important that our district provides opportunity and equal access to these students so they can be successful despite their circumstances,” she said. “The whole foundation of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Act is to provide equitable opportunities for our families and to allow students to access school equitably.”
As the nation prepares to recognize National Homeless Youth Awareness Month in November, Ali-Jackson will continue to raise awareness about the importance of supporting homeless youth. She plans to highlight the annual recognition with lunch and learn sessions and a collaborative community service project with other metro Atlanta homeless education programs.
“Our community partners work purposefully to support our students and our families, so we really want to give them a platform to share what they do, why they do it, and how we can continue to support them,” she said.
The National Homeless Liaison of the Year honor will be awarded in November during the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY) conference in Orlando, Florida.