Scholarship Prep South Bay, a Wilmington charter school, touts a rare benchmark of success. Last year, none of the substantial number of homeless students it educates were chronically absent, school officials said, a goal they hope to maintain as school opens.
The school, which offers transitional kindergarten through eighth grade, enrolled 421 students last year, and 54 experienced homelessness. Addressing their basic needs by offering a host of services to all students and families — nearly 93% of children come from low-income households — is a priority that boosts attendance.
In addition to government funding it receives as a public school, Scholarship Prep also relies on community partners for donations or services such as food, school supplies and hygiene kits.
Students are served breakfast and lunch and can receive before- and after-school care as well as school uniforms and hygiene supplies, and families are given a Metro GoPass TAP card to help with transportation.
On-site health and wellness services are provided as well as washers and dryers. In the classroom, social and emotional learning is embedded into the day‘s lessons, staff have been trained on helping students exposed to traumatic experiences, and counseling services are available.
For families, weekly food provisions and community grocery assistance are provided as needed as well as hotel assistance and a mobile phone preloaded with information on community resources such as food pantries in the area and mental health resources.
“We create a school where everyone is welcome, cares about students and families, has incredible wraparound services, gives students what they need — and they stay,” Scholarship Prep chief executive and co-founder Jason Watts said. The services and care keep students in class, he said.
Students make academic progress
Homelessness and high chronic absenteeism are linked.
Statewide datashow that students experiencing homelessness have among the highest rates of chronic absenteeism at about 35%, far above the state figure of 19%. At the same time, the number of homeless students in Los Angeles County has surged 28% in recent years — from 47,689 in the 2022-23 school year to 61,249 in 2023-24 — according to studies from the UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools.
Scholarship Prep officials say they’re not only addressing that problem, but also their students are on a solid academic path.
Based on the most recently available state test data for the spring 2025 testing period, the results at the school are promising. Yet overall scores remain low.
In English, 37.3% of students meet or exceed state goals in English, compared to 47.4% statewide and 46.5% in L.A. Unified for comparable grades. In math, 21.4% of the charter’s students meet or exceed state goals in math, compared to 37.3% statewide and 36.8% in L.A. Unified.
This comparison, however, is somewhat misleading. If the data are screened for students from low-income families, most of the performance gap disappears. And even within this low-economic group, the charter serves a higher percentage of homeless students. Also, about 1 one in 4 of its students has moved in or out of the school over the course of a school year.
The students make progress toward nearing proficiency during elementary and middle school. However, there is an academic drop, especially in math, when students transition from elementary to middle school, which is a widespread issue across education.
Building trust with families
The campus family resource center helps build a confidential bond with students and families.
“We lead with love and respect,” said Kristen Crowe, the school’s chief community officer. There are no invasive conversations, but rather a commitment to belonging over judgment, she added.
A “rainbow cart” in each classroom contains necessities such as deodorant, hair care supplies, toothbrushes and toothpaste along with school supplies. Teachers can assess how students are doing by paying attention to how much they take from the cart.
Quenisha Johnson, mother of four — including a third-grader, an eighth-grader and a recent graduate of the school — said her family has experienced housing instability, and the school supports her children with food boxes, supplies and counseling.
All three daughters have competed on the dance team at no cost, with the two oldest becoming team captains and student leaders. The school’s readiness to help, especially by providing mental health support, has been key to their strong attendance.
Principal Allison Vann attributes the school’s high attendance rate to the students’ sense of belonging.
“Loving the whole child includes the family,” Vann said. “I’m a principal but I’m more than that. I’m doing house visits. A kid is crying and I’m a mom of four — I’ll hold them until their mom gets here.”
The school day begins with a classroom meeting, known as “morning meeting,” where students complete check-in questions to help the teacher track their circumstances and needs.
“Our full training in the summer helps us support kids that are actively experiencing trauma; they may have behavioral issues and we don’t want to lash out back,” eighth-grade teacher Melody Stambaugh said. “We want to make sure that we’re patient and provide a safe space for them to confide on what’s actually going on.”
The kids notice.
“My favorite thing about being here is that the teachers are very friendly, and you get to connect with them. They’re very helpful also, no matter if you need support with a specific subject, whether it’s outside of school or not,” said Jace, a 14-year-old eighth-grader who asked that his last name not be used to protect his privacy.
Students are encouraged to make use of “calming corners” in each classroomwhere they can find instructions for breathing exercises, fidgets and stress balls and noise-canceling headphones. Students also have access to a mental health room where they can take 10 minutes to de-stress at any point.
Scholarship Prep maintains more than 50 community partnerships to bring students experiencing homelessness the services they need. Project Hope Alliance, a private nonprofit that partners with schools to bring resources to students experiencing homelessness, is one key partnership.
“Our greatest impact is by investing in today’s students experiencing homelessness,” said Jennifer Friend, CEO of Project Hope Alliance, one of Scholarship Prep’s community partners. “Every day I get to watch our youth show up powerfully, and that is an investment well placed.”
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