Marcelas Owens and family. Photo by Phyllis Fletcher.

First Place School

06/13/2008

Many urban school districts have programs for kids who are homeless. But that's not enough, say the people behind Seattle's "First Place" school. It's a private elementary school for kids and their families coming out of homelessness. KUOW's Phyllis Fletcher has this profile.

WHAT'S THE SCARIEST THING ABOUT GOING TO A NEW SCHOOL?

MARCELAS: "I'm afraid of big bullies, and, um, I'm scared of people that are gonna be mean to me."

KIDS TALK ABOUT EACH OTHER. IN YOUR AVERAGE SCHOOL, IF A KID AND HIS BROTHERS AND SISTERS ARE HOMELESS...

CATO: "They'll then start calling them names, you know, so then the children learn not to share about where it is that they might be staying. Especially if you're staying in a shelter."

OR IN A CAR. OR OUTSIDE. DOREEN CATO IS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE FIRST PLACE SCHOOL. MARCELAS OWENS IS A THIRD–GRADER THERE. HE CAME TO THE SCHOOL WHEN HIS MOM GOT SICK. SHE LOST HER JOB, HER HEALTH INSURANCE, AND THEIR APARTMENT. THEY STAYED IN A SHELTER FOR A WHILE. MARCELAS'S MOM WASN'T GETTING BETTER.

MARCELAS: "She was in the hospital, and I was a little bit afraid ‘cause she had something in her mouth."

MARCELAS WAS ABOUT TO FINISH 2ND GRADE.

MARCELAS: "It was two days before my graduation. And I told her about I was gonna do a dance. And, um, I told her that I would tell her all the details.

BUT HE DIDN'T GET THE CHANCE.

MARCELAS: "And when we came back, we found out she was dead. We lit candles and then we tried to pray but I couldn't handle it, and I was crying a lot."

THE BRIGHT SPOTS IN MARCELAS' LIFE WERE TWO LITTLE SISTERS. HIS GRANDMA. AND HIS FRIENDS AT FIRST PLACE SCHOOL.

MARCELAS: "They tried to cheer me up, like, we were pretending we were at McDonald's."

BECAUSE HIS FRIENDS KNEW THAT HIS MOM USED TO TELL HIM HE'D GET TO GO TO MCDONALD'S SOON WHEN SHE WANTED TO CHEER HIM UP. MARCELAS' GRANDMA GINA OWENS SAYS FIRST PLACE HELPED HER WHEN SHE HAD A LOT ON HER PLATE. GETTING CUSTODY OF HER GRANDKIDS. FINDING A NEW APARTMENT. SHE DIDN'T KNOW HOW SHE COULD AFFORD A MEMORIAL SERVICE. SO FIRST PLACE DID IT.

OWENS: "Even though it was closed for the summer they opened up the doors and one of the teachers got a helium tank and had balloons. We all let our balloons up into the air at the same time. And it was really amazing. I don't think that with a public school system I would have had that kind of support."

BECAUSE PUBLIC SCHOOLS CAN'T PAY FOR COMPREHENSIVE SOCIAL SERVICES. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR DOREEN CATO SAYS HER SCHOOL PROBABLY HELPS JUST 2% OF HOMELESS KIDS IN THE SEATTLE AREA. BUT SHE SAYS GRANTS AND DONATIONS THAT FUND THE SCHOOL ARE WELL–SPENT. BECAUSE THE STRESSES OF BEING HOMELESS CAN MAKE IT ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE FOR KIDS TO LEARN.

CATO: "It's hard to focus on academics when you're trying to focus: 'Am I going to have the same place to put my head down on? Am I going to be able to eat something other than something stale?' The little kids, it's hard for them. They just know they're miserable."

A LOT OF TIMES THEY WANT TO FIX THE SITUATION THEMSELVES. BUT THEY'RE POWERLESS. THEY GET MAD AND ACT OUT. CATO SAYS SHE WENT THROUGH THAT, WHEN SHE WAS A TEENAGE RUNAWAY.

CATO: "I remember. And makes me realize that here at First Place, we should, and we do, spend more time on the socio–emotional part for the kids. And then you get to academics."

NOT STANDARDIZED TESTS, LIKE IN PUBLIC SCHOOL. BUT ACTUAL READING AND WRITING. MARCELAS' TEACHER SAYS HE READS AT A 4TH GRADE LEVEL AND DOES MATH LIKE A 5TH GRADER. REMEMBER, HE'S IN THIRD GRADE AND HE'S ABOUT TO LEAVE FIRST PLACE. EACH KID LEAVES AFTER THREE YEARS, SO MORE CAN COME IN.

REMEMBER THE SCARY THINGS ABOUT A NEW SCHOOL? BULLIES, AND PEOPLE WHO ARE MEAN TO YOU? MARCELAS SAYS HE'LL BE NICE NEXT YEAR. EVEN TO THOSE KIDS. IT'S SOMETHING HE LEARNED AT FIRST PLACE, AND FROM HIS MOM.

PHYLLIS FLETCHER, KUOW NEWS.

© Copyright 2008, KUOW