ATLANTA — There are 45,000 children experiencing homelessness in Georgia. This means there are thousands of students struggling to get to the classroom.
A school in Downtown Atlanta is in the business of closing that gap -- and changing lives.
“I was behind three months, I was facing eviction," Kiera Christian said. "Back-to-back my lights were off."
When Christian’s daughter, London, started at The Boyce L. Ansley School in kindergarten, she said immediately the school stepped in to help.
The campus on Ralph McGill Boulevard is a private school -- but it doesn't cost parents a dime.
Its private school status eliminates address boundaries and its tuition-free education is funded by generous donors.
However, Principal Leah Skinner said the school is raising its operation cost to $2.4 million next year.
“Most private schools thrive off of tuition," Skinner said. "We don't, but it still costs about $10,000 to educate a student at this school."
There are currently 60 students enrolled in kindergarten through third grade. That averages to about 15 students per classroom.
“We have children from Clayton County, Fulton County -- north and south, Dekalb County, Gwinnett County, Cobb County,” Skinner explained.
And while education is crucial, Skinner said they take a whole family approach: addressing the trauma of poverty and homelessness with social workers and counselors for the students and parents.
Years of monthly programs helped Christian learn to maintain a budget and save money.
"This school is for the students but they do have so many programs that get you on track to get you successful for life," Christian said.
Skinner said it's because when parents experience success, their children can too.
“One of the requirements for our families is to create the family success plan and to work their plan of success - and a part of that is to attend a monthly workshop on finance (and) relationships,” Skinner said.
The school provides transportation, with buses they purchased last year, gas cards and MARTA passes. It is expanding as more students enroll.
“And then we have a waiting list for kindergarten and we may have to look at and offer two sections (for) next year because the need for our type of school is increasing every single day,” Skinner said.
Next year they will grow into another floor of the building on Ralph McGill and plan to move into another school building over the next few years.
London is now in the second grade, the president of her class, and her mom is now a manager at Walgreens. Christian says she’s been able to keep a budget, improve her credit score, take her family on trips and is now working toward buying a house -- but London will remain at the Boyce L. Ansley School.
"Just because you get housed doesn't mean you are settled, it's what we call ebb and flow, so we are that safety net for them,” Skinner said.
A safety net that lets students and parents learn as a family to succeed.
“And to be proud like I did it," Christian said. "I did it."
The school is in its fifth year and will add a grade every year until they cover K-8. Skinner says their goal once these students complete the eighth grade is for them to enroll in Cristo Rey Atlanta Jesuit High School, a charter school.
For more information on The Boyce L. Ansley School, visit its website.