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Monarch School

Education. Opportunity. Transformation.

Monarch School Project nurtures resilience in unhoused youth and their families. We empower students to influence their own growth in the areas of academic success and social-emotional learning and we reinforce the existing strength of families so that students can thrive in school and in life.

Overview

Information on this page is provided by the innovator and has not been evaluated by HundrED.

Web presence

1987

Established

500

Children

1

Countries
Target group
All
Updated
May 2021
"Young people do best when they experience strong, positive relationships in all parts of their lives, have a safe place to learn, and have a say in their own learning."

About the innovation

Why did you create this innovation?

Student homelessness is a growing and far-reaching crisis impacting communities throughout the nation. 1.3 million children find themselves in this predicament. They sleep in shelters, on our streets, or doubled or tripled up with other families night after night. This significantly impacts academic success at all levels.

What does your innovation look like in practice?

Our students are more likely to succeed when they feel safe, connected, and cared for. We integrate all of our learning with trauma-informed care, social-emotional learning, and restorative practices.
Monarch provides an accredited public school education coupled with mentoring, wrap-around mental health services, counseling, therapeutic arts, cooking and gardening, student advocacy, parent center programming, housing assistance, after school activities, career and technical education, art, dance, music, athletics, internships, and college and career preparation. Additionally, we make access to basic necessities a seamless part of what we do. Students have access to shower and laundry facilities, three meals a day, monthly bus passes, a boutique for clothes, shoes, and hygiene kits as well as regular medical, dental, and vision check-ups. We have high expectations for our students to be successful both in and out of the classroom. We match this with high support.

How has it been spreading?

Monarch has inspired other schools to do more for students experiencing homelessness including a startup charter school in Los Angeles and a private school that has transformed itself in Oklahoma City. Monarch’s path forward is to be a leader at the forefront of providing best practices both in and out of the classroom for students experiencing homelessness. The aim is to increase the breadth and depth of Monarch’s impact on students experiencing homelessness everywhere so that they can thrive in school and life.

If I want to try it, what should I do?

We are currently developing a method kit to serve as a resource and a guide for districts, schools, and classrooms throughout the nation. It outlines The Monarch Model which gives insight into how we implement our unique integration of research-based strategies for educating unhoused youth. Please sign up for our newsletter on our website to be notified of the method kit's completion.

Spread of the innovation

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