Your Youngest Students Aren't in School Yet: Connecting K–12 Homeless Liaisons with Early Childhood Programs - Event Information
Return to Complete Event List
Show Event Calendar for ECYEH | Search Events for ECYEH
Event Date and Time
Event Information
The information for the webinar is below:
Title: Your Youngest Students Aren't in School Yet: Connecting K–12 Homeless Liaisons with Early Childhood Programs
Description: Many infants, toddlers, and preschoolers experiencing homelessness go unidentified because they are not yet enrolled in K–12 schools, even though McKinney-Vento protections begin at birth. This session will help Pennsylvania Homeless Liaisons understand their role in identifying and supporting children under five. Participants will learn why young children are often missed and gain practical strategies for partnering with Head Start, Early Intervention, Pre-K Counts, child care, home visiting, and other early childhood programs to improve identification, referrals, and access to services.
- Date: Tuesday, December 8, 2026
- Time: 11 am to 12 pm
- Recording: This webinar will be recorded and posted with captions.
- Accessibility: Center for Schools and Communities encourages all to participate in our learning opportunities. Please note that Zoom Captions will be enabled for this event.
Meet Our Presenters
Tracy Duarte is the Director of the Pennsylvania Head Start State Collaboration Office (PA HSCO), where she leads statewide efforts to strengthen partnerships among Head Start, state agencies, and community organizations serving young children and families. With more than 30 years of experience in early childhood education and systems building, she is recognized for her leadership in cross-sector collaboration, particularly at the intersection of early childhood, homelessness, housing, and public policy.
A nationally recognized expert on early childhood homelessness, Tracy leads Pennsylvania's Thrive From the Start initiative, a statewide effort to improve identification and support for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers experiencing homelessness and housing instability. She regularly presents at state and national conferences on early childhood homelessness, Head Start partnerships, and cross-system collaboration, helping policymakers and practitioners strengthen services for young children and families experiencing adversity.
Before joining the Pennsylvania Head Start State Collaboration Office, Tracy directed an Early Head Start program and served as Pennsylvania's State-Based Infant/Toddler Specialist with ZERO TO THREE, providing statewide leadership in infant and toddler policy and program quality.
Sarah Vrabic is Senior Manager of Early Childhood at SchoolHouse Connection. In her role, she partners with communities and states, working to overcome homelessness through early care and education by providing practical assistance to identify and enroll young children experiencing homelessness into early childhood development programs. Prior to SHC, Sarah worked within the Philadelphia family emergency shelter system for a decade, facilitating cross-systems collaboration between housing and early childhood education programs. Sarah has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Master of Science in Psychology with a focus on resilience in child development within adverse contexts, both from Villanova University.
REGISTRATION NOTE: If this is your first time registering with us, you’ll be prompted to create a free account in our registration system. Once your account is set up, simply click the link to return to the previous page and complete your event registration. Next time, your information will be saved for faster registration. Thanks!
Register
Registration is open for this event until Tuesday, December 8, 2026 at 11:00 am.