Public School System Helps Homeless Teens

Imagine if a public school system could help students who want to use education as a way out of poverty and crime? A public charter school in the San Francisco Bay Area is doing exactly that. They will offer a free public school DORM and MEALS on Treasure Island for the most at-risk high school students – those who have failed in traditional schools and have had run ins with the law.

24 students will receive free room and board. Many of these students consider homeless shelters their homes. The school, Life Learning Academy, enrolls 50-70 at-risk students and now they’re offering dorms and meals to those who need it the most. Their goal is to give these students a chance to turn their lives around and graduate from high school.

Rather than send these students to juvenile hall, where it costs each teen $375,000 per year, the dorms/meals program only costs about $33,000 per student. That’s about a tenth the cost.  95% of the students at Life Learning Academy graduate high school. Besides juvenile hall doesn’t improve the students’ chances of graduating from high school and leading a life without crime.  Instead, 40% of kids that are incarcerated in juvenile detention centers end up in prison by the time they’re 25 years old.  Love this new concept in helping students who need help the most. We need to offer this to all at-risk students.

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