Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/48466
MEET THE STUDENTS MONARCH SCHOOL POPULATION INCREASE Noelle, 14, says her family has been "struggling" for quite some time. For the past two months she has lived in a motel room with her mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, 1-year-old brother and 6-year-old sister. "Honestly, it's complicated," she says. "We live in a little area, and it's very stressful. I sleep with my grandma and my little sister. There are two beds there." Being homeless, she says, is constantly worrying about having a place to stay and enough to eat. She experiences anxiety and says she has an ulcer. Before enrolling in Monarch School in San Diego, she had attended 10 2009 2011 The school's student population, made up entirely of homeless children, has grown by 75 percent from 2009 to 2011 due to a worsening economy. missing school." Students typically gain a year of academic achievement for every six months at Monarch through intensive interventions, says Principal Joel Garcia, and they are assessed every 100 days in language, reading and math. For high school students, the emphasis can also be on "credit recovery" so they graduate on time or earn their GED. "Our school is about educating the whole child," says reading specialist Stacy Berming- ham, who has been at the campus six years. "We make sure every child receives love, care and attention. Students know there are adults here that they can rely on. We don't take for granted that our children have had a good night's sleep, or been fed, or had any sort of consistency in their lives. They are living lives of trauma, and there is no soft-selling that." Schools like Monarch are necessary, says Bermingham, because society no longer takes care of those who cannot fend for themselves. MORE INFO To learn more about the school or to contribute to the foundation, visit www.monarchschools.org. other schools and had poor grades. "I was failing because of the stress," she says, choking back tears. "I couldn't focus on things because of my family situation." At other schools, students made fun of her for being homeless. "I felt like a nobody and a failure," she relates. "I missed four years of school because I was badly bullied. But here I don't feel like a failure. At Monarch, I'm somebody." Noelle is now staying after school to receive special "academic support" to bring up her grades. She is doing her best to turn things around so she can graduate, join the Marines and go to college. She would like to be a pho- tographer, and the school has a fund to buy her a camera. "I have a lot of friends here at Monarch," she says. "I love it here. This is the longest I've ever stayed at a school because I like coming here." NOELLE Fabian, 17, has lived at three shelters in two years with his mother and two brothers, and says living in shelters is "hectic." Currently his entire family is renting a studio apartment from a friend. For a time his family owned a home near Riverside. But Fabian broke his arm and his mother broke her legs, and without health insurance the family went through its sav- ings and lost their home. He attended 15 schools before arriving at Monarch one year ago. He likes that it's a small place with car- ing adults, and that students are immediately welcom- ing and nonjudgmental. "I find it very comforting," he says. "Nobody puts you down, and everybody co-exists. I have a bigger interest in school. I am doing my assignments and reading the mate- rial and doing my homework. I like my teachers, too." Lots of people, he says, have the wrong idea about the kinds of people who are homeless. "Not all homeless kids sleep on the street," says Fabian. "A lot of kids become homeless and become depressed. I try to stay optimistic. It's just another journey and another path. It has made me become more independent. I'm defi- nitely going to college and having a career." FABIAN November 2011 / www.cta.org 15