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Kelso School District's unique approach helps homeless students thrive

All 15 homeless Kelso high school seniors graduated on Saturday. Statewide, just around 60% of homeless high school seniors graduated last year.

KELSO, Wash. — The Kelso School District in southwest Washington is taking a unique approach to help its homeless students. 

While many schools provide food and clothes to homeless students, in Kelso, staff help students with anything they need. Whether it be shoes or any other item, administrators work to ensure kids have everything they need to be successful. Community members and local businesses, like Target and Panera, also donate to the district frequently.

Staff with the Kelso School District Family & Community Resource Center also help students find housing and prepare for job interviews.

“We’ve kind of dialed in our service model. Really, it’s unique to Kelso,” said Don Iverson, manager of Kelso’s family community resource center.

The hands-on role is also helping in the classroom, after it was officially implemented in 2021. In the three years since, just two homeless Kelso students didn’t graduate with their class — and those two students graduated soon after, staff said.

“Whatever they need, we do it,” Nancy Baldwin, Kelso School District’s youth and family support specialist said.

This year, all 15 homeless seniors are graduating, district officials said. Across the state of Washington, just over 60% of homeless high school seniors graduated in 2023. Throughout the year, staff supported around 650 students, who were experiencing homelessness or close to becoming houseless.

“They made it simpler, they made it a one-step guide to my success,” said Makoa Perez, who participated in the program and just graduated on Saturday.

Perez has lived on his own for the past few months, working two jobs on top of school. Despite that challenge, he was named class president and graduated with a 3.9 GPA. Now he plans to attend Washington State University and pursue a master's degree in business. 

While Perez excelled in high school, Kelso staff said other homeless students are well-prepared for the future as well.

“We tell them that their ticket out of poverty, their ticket out of homelessness, is that we’re going to get you a skill,” Baldwin said.

She added that each of the 15 students have a life plan already, whether that’s pursuing college, going into the military or enrolling in a trade school. The hands-on attention they receive within the school system plays a big factor in students’ planning, Baldwin said.

“We realized they need more than a pair of shoes and a granola bar,” Baldwin said.

Kelso staff believe the program could work in districts across the country, both big and small.

“You know we can be that impactful culture, that nation that really makes a solution,” Perez said.

The KGW Solutions Project is our commitment to report on ideas and strategies that address important issues in our community. We want to hear from you about solutions. Contact us at solutions@kgw.com.

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