Dear Students at Lake Highland Prep,
I feel so lucky to wake up each morning and attend Lake Highland. Each one of our classrooms has a Smartboard and everyone has an iPad to use along with it. Most of our assignments can be taken from the online homework page and can be turned in there as well. Despite the amazing things Lake Highland has to offer, I still hear people dread school and wish to be anywhere else but school.
While some may dread going to school, others are hoping to attend school. The McKinney-Vento act is a law that allows homeless children immediate enrollment into their district school. In other words, this shows that homeless or not, you have a right to an education. This education may not include the iPads or smartboards that we get to use at Lake Highland, but these kids are entitled to an education. The type of education we get at Lake Highland is special and should never be taken for granted.
I read a story in The New York Times about three girls, Brianna, Tamara, and Sally, who live at the Coalition for the Homeless and attend Fern Creek Elementary School. They are picked up first and dropped off last by the bus so that nobody knows they are homeless. They arrive at school where they luckily have kind and caring teachers who help them through their days. Briana does not have an iPad or Google at the tip of her fingers. Tamara does not have a program that gives her the extra help she needs because she has moved from school to school. Sally is struggling to keep up with her peers. Like other kids in the school, these girls qualify for free lunch, but over the weekend, those who are not lucky enough to be at a homeless shelter, may not eat until lunch on Monday.
Brianna, Tamara, and Sally are doing fairly well because they are at the Shelter. Kids who are not, are starving physically but are also struggling mentally. They have no stable home life like we do. This includes no place to do their homework or sleep. An unstable home makes the children lack social and emotional skills that you develop at a young age, but also skills such as problem solving, perseverance, and attention. Not only do they lack personal skills they are also behind in their education. Due to the constant in and out of homeless shelters, this forces the kids to have an inconsistent education.
In Orlando right now, the Central Florida Commission on Homelessness is trying to rethink homelessness using what is known as the “housing first” program. They are trying to get families into homes so that they are stable and can then work on rebuilding their lives. A home has them going to the same place every night. Shelters such as the Coalition for the Homeless keep families together during their stay to try and make it as easy as possible. Despite the housing projects, the number of homeless families on the streets of Orlando is increasing.
Learning about these Children's lack of opportunity has made me realize my opportunities. Now compare what Lake Highland has to offer to what homeless students have. Lake Highland offers incredible opportunities that include AP Classes, college tours with college counselors, a three day internship, intense art programs, theater, clubs, sports, as well as an incredible Science Program known as ASPIRE. These opportunities are incredible and tend to be overlooked by most of us. Students at other schools often don’t get to participate in lab activities at UCF, or spend days learning about a career they might be interested in.
These opportunities are unbelievable and there is no reason not to seize them. Lake Highland gives you the way to succeed and get ahead of the people around you. While it is given to you, it is your choice whether or not you choose to take the road less traveled.
Now go make a change in your world. There is no reason not to.
Yours truly,
An Appreciative Student
