Support for Kansas City’s Unhoused Students Grows with Kauffman Grant

KANSAS CITY – The Missouri Charter Public School Association (MCPSA) has been awarded a Capacity Building Grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation to strengthen its support of unhoused students and families

The grant, announced in late June, is one of 37 awarded to nonprofit organizations working to address critical capacity needs, such as leadership development, IT infrastructure, and program evaluation.

“The Missouri Charter Public School Association is honored to receive this grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation—an institution rooted in Mr. K’s vision of supporting education, entrepreneurship, and the Kansas City community,” said MCPSA Executive Director Noah Devine.

MCPSA will use the funding to expand its McKinney-Vento Collaboration, which focuses on improving student attendance and academic outcomes for charter school students experiencing homelessness.

In partnership with SchoolSmartKC, the McKinney-Vento (MKV) Cooperative has seen significant growth since its launch in the 2022–23 school year. Programming has expanded from serving a few to reaching every charter school in Kansas City.   

To ensure long term sustainability, MCPSA has incorporated the work into the support services offered to all charter schools across the state.

“We are implementing a full-impact model to support Kansas City public charter school students experiencing homelessness—one that brings together financial resources, technical assistance, and transportation,” said Devine. “This is about building real capacity within schools and communities to serve students exceptionally well.”

In St. Louis, MCPSA is launching a new initiative to address a key barrier for many students: transportation. The McKinney-Vento Transportation Cooperative is a first-of-its-kind pilot program that unites charter and district schools to coordinate shared transportation solutions for McKinney-Vento eligible students. The cooperative will operate under a fee-for-service model, with structured governance, legal compliance, and Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) to ensure accountability and long-term sustainability.

“We look forward to showcasing this work in both Kansas City and St. Louis over the next year,” Devine said.