Parent Teacher Organization and staff join forces to help students in transition
![Jay Mitchell, freshman, lived with her mom ever since her mom got a divorce with Jay’s dad. After that, Jay’s mom got laid off of work and after that moved in with Jay’s grandmother. “The place that she [her grandmother] lives in is horrible. There’s roaches and rats. I used to sleep on the couch and on the couch the roches would crawl on me and rats would be on me when I was sleeping. All I would do was flick them off and go back to sleep, even though I was kind of scared, because rats and roaches are on me,” Mitchell said. After that Mitchell’s mom decided they should leave and go live in a hotel.](https://GCAAtoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/IMG_2790-900x675.jpg)
Jay Mitchell, freshman, lived with her mom ever since her mom got a divorce with Jay’s dad. After that, Jay’s mom got laid off of work and after that moved in with Jay’s grandmother. “The place that she [her grandmother] lives in is horrible. There’s roaches and rats. I used to sleep on the couch and on the couch the roches would crawl on me and rats would be on me when I was sleeping. All I would do was flick them off and go back to sleep, even though I was kind of scared, because rats and roaches are on me,” Mitchell said. After that Mitchell’s mom decided they should leave and go live in a hotel.
May 2, 2018
Parents, counselors and teachers have helped students that are in transition and are in need of additional help. They have become more aware of students and their actions, especially since there has been an increase in students that are in transition. Being in transition is when a student doesn’t have a permanent home to live in. The meaning of being in transition could mean that you are either moving frequently, staying in a hotel, etc.
Many kids ranging from middle to high school that are homeless (in transit) go to the counselors for help or for things they may need in the moment. There are a lot of students that don’t even know what qualifies themselves as being ‘in transit’, such as not having a permanent home (moving from house to house or living in a hotel), or not living with an adult if you are a minor. That’s where the staff has shown their support.
“As a counseling department, we reached out to some families to see if they would be able to assist us with donating personal need items,” Rusty Smith, high school counselor, said.
Teachers play a big role in the lives of the students, as they have donated items of need for students. They have donated food, clothing items and smaller things from hygiene products to school supplies.
Students aren’t treated any differently from anyone else, but while they’re facing their obstacles in life the teachers become more aware of why things aren’t happening as efficiently.
The Parent Teacher Organization stepped in and showed their support, and they were the first to notice an increase in the transition of these students. The PTO keeps consistent communication with counselors, and updates them with items being donated or if the school needs anything for the food pantry.
“It started when my mom moved out of town and after that I kind of had to be on my own, I moved in with my boyfriend…she said she left because she needed to do somethings to better herself,” Otis Nash, senior, said.
There is a closet that contains items ranging from clothing, to school supplies and hygiene products for students that are in need of some assistance. It has not recently been organized and there is a lack of upkeep, however it is open for students to take advantage of, which is one of the ways the PTO and school staff have joined forces to help students in transit.
