Student and Family Support (SFS)

Educational Stability Office Hours and Training Resources


Office Hours

This forum is hosted by the Educational Stability Team for homeless liaisons, foster care points of contact, and DCF, district, provider staff to ask questions, discuss current issues and share best practices for supporting highly mobile students and their access to a public education. Offices Hours are encouraged. Registration Is Now Required to Receive Log-in.

Most office hour sessions will include a one-hour informational/best practices series webinar and a half hour for follow-up Q&A. Please see table below for training topics and registration.

TopicDate
(third Thursday of every month unless specified)
TimeRegistration Link for Log-in
Unpacking Student DataNovember 20, 202510:00 to 11:30 amRegistration
LEA Assignment with McKinney Vento Homeless DeterminationDecember 18, 202510:00 to 11:30 amRegistration
Enrollment & EligibilityJanuary 15, 202610:00 to 11:30 amRegistration
Homeless Liaison and Foster Care Point Of Contact Roles and ResponsibilitiesFebruary 19, 202610:00 to 11:30 amRegistration
Foster Care Best Interest Determination & EnrollmentMarch 19, 202610:00 to 11:30 amRegistration
DESE Resources Intersection with Community ResourcesApril 16, 202610:00 to 11:30 amRegistration

Training Resources

Educational Stability Training Modules

Developed in-house by the Team these modules are each 30 to 60 minutes long, topic focused and Massachusetts specific. Feel free to use them for your own reference or as part of staff training. The Team will be adding modules on an ongoing basis to cover the Nuts and Bolts as well as Hot Topics. We hope you find these helpful. If you have any questions, join us for Office Hours (see above) or contact us at achievement@mass.gov .

Orientations to Educational Stability

Join us for a full-day, in-person training session to gain an overview and basic understanding of ensuring access to public school education for students who are homeless, in foster care, or from migratory or military-connected families. The orientation will include federal and state educational rights, student eligibilities and enrollment, and best practices in supporting highly mobile students. This session is intended for homeless education liaisons, foster care points of contact, family engagement specialists, district staff, and administrators who support highly mobile students and families/guardians. State and local service providers, DCF social workers, and other staff are welcome to attend.

Dates and locations:

  • October 7, 2025 Greenfield Community College — Main Campus Room #C119 Dining Common 1 College Drive Greenfield, MA
  • October 9, 2025 Fitchburg State University — Hammond Building
  • October 21, 2025 DESE, Conference Room, 135 Santilli Highway, Everett, MA 02149.
  • October 22, 2025 Plymouth South Middle School, Lecture Hall l488 Long Pond Road, Plymouth, MA 02360

All dates/locations follow the same agenda and run from 9:00am to 3:00pm. The agenda includes a lunch break on your own.

To attend at any one of these sessions, registration is required as space is limited. Each individual intending to join one of the sessions should complete an individual registration for accuracy of attendance. Register Here for a Session

Additional DESE Resources and Events that Support Educational Stability

2025-26 Educational Stability Program Monitoring Review — Cohort 5

Training documents for Cohort 5 Districts:

Data Collection Webinar — for District Staff

  • 2024-2025 Data Collection presentation — This webinar reviewed the data collection process for homeless and foster care students within districts and how to certify and submit data to DESE at the end of the school year. It was a refresher for seasoned district staff and an information session for new staff.

National and Other Resources

Last Updated: October 15, 2025

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