A kindhearted principal helped a less fortunate high school student achieve housing stability at the expense of his job.
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Rob Burnside, an Ohio principal with 30 years of education experience, offered to house a high school student on the verge of withdrawing because of housing insecurity.
During his junior year, student Landerius "DeDe" Hayes was sleeping in a car or staying in his father's mobile home, which he confessed became dangerously cold. To make matters worse, he could not safely live with his mother, who resided outside of the school district.
When Burnside learned that Hayes would have to withdraw due to housing insecurity, he strategized a heartwarming plan to help him reach graduate status.
Principal Offers Shelter to Homeless Student
With his wife's approval, Burnside invited Hayes to live with the couple and their two adopted children.
Additionally, Burnside allowed Hayes to continue attending classes despite being officially withdrawn.
The decision caught the district's attention, which investigated the matter. Burnside was placed on administrative leave and was later forced to resign.
Despite losing his job, Burnside stood by his decision to assist the needy student.
"I own the fact that my communication could have been better. Maybe I didn't ask the right questions," he told the Cincinnati Enquirer. "I had nothing to gain out of this other than this is a kid that I care about, our school cares about and we want to help."
Ex-Principal Adopts Former Student
Rob and Angel Burnside later became Hayes' legal guardians, giving him a permanent home and allowing him to return to school.
Hayes graduated in May 2026. Of course, the Burnside couple, whom Hayes calls Pops and Ma, attended.
The high school graduate is now in training to become an aviation mechanic.
Burnside has yet to land another administrative role, but stated that he does not regret his decision.
"Because what value can we put on the life of a young person?" he said.
Public schools identified 1,548,191 students experiencing homelessness in the 2023-2024 school year. This is a 12.6 percent increase from the previous school year (2022-2023); a 28.5 percent increase from the 2021-2022 school year; and the highest number on record.
