This amazing school caters exclusively to homeless children
There’s a school in San Diego, California that caters exclusively to homeless children. The Monarch School is one of only a few schools in the United States to be accessed by children without a home, and it does so by giving them access to showers, laundry facilities, meals, after school programs, and a complete roster of academic classes.
Speaking with The Rotarian, Michelle Candland pointed out, “How can children focus on school if their tummies are growling, their shoes don’t fit, and they don’t even know where they are going to be sleeping the next day?” The Rotary club got behind the school soon after it opened in 1987 under the combined auspices of the San Diego County Office of Education, and the juvenile court system. Originally, the school was a two-room store front.
With the efforts of the Rotary club, the school eventually moved to a 930 square-metre warehouse. Even in the larger space, classrooms were crowded, so Rotary threw its weight behind a US 15-million-dollar fundraising effort that saw the purchase of a 4,738 square-metre building. After an upgrade to the building, the school’s attendance rate improved, as did the student’s academic performance and grades.
The name “Monarch” was chosen by students, referencing the way a butterfly emerges from its cocoon.
You can learn more about the Monarch School here at their website.
Image credit: Monarch School Facebook
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