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Life and Work with Kate Kennedy

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Kate Kennedy.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Kate. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I will never forget the day I was driving down Courtland Street and saw a young mother sitting on the curb on the side of the road with four school-aged children running around beside her. One boy was barefoot and another was without a shirt. She looked tired and sad. As the mother of 4 children. I cannot imagine the stress of living on the street with children — not knowing where you might sleep or eat that night or how you might find shoes and clothes for your growing children.

I began to talk with mothers I encountered in homeless serving agencies across the city, and a disturbing trend emerged. Many of these children were not enrolled in school. Without a permanent address or easy access to paperwork, it is difficult to know which school to attend. As well, transience, trauma, low language exposure, and food/sleep insecurity impede a child’s ability to be successful in a mainstream school setting.

Children are the collateral damage of homelessness. In Atlanta Public Schools, children without stable housing score approximately 18% lower on grade-level testing in reading and language and 20% lower in math when compared to their housed peers. The Boyce L Ansley School is a bold and innovative program created to bridge the yawning gaps in educational opportunities for children experiencing homelessness.

We offer trauma-informed, literacy-focused education, small classes, teachers with specialized training, individualized curriculum, ongoing trauma therapy, two meals, transportation, uniforms, school supplies, parent education and support, and after school cares all free of charge to our families. The Boyce L Ansley School opened its doors to an inaugural Pre-K Class of 12 students in August of 2018. This year, we added a kindergarten class and have a total of 30 students enrolled. We will continue to add one grade per year until we reach 8th grade. Our five-year goal is for all of our students to be performing on grade level by the 3rd grade. It is our vision to offer an educational journey that will allow our scholars to write a story of success beyond their current circumstances.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Starting this school was a bold leap of faith. It has been an amazing journey but not without endless hours of work. Each day, our team is called to tackle at least one issue that we have never before faced. Our goal is to do the best we can the first time around and make plans and policies and procedures for the next time. We have amassed a large number of expert community partners along the way who guide and support our work, and we have garnered the friendship of so many who want to travel alongside us in this important journey.

When we opened our doors, we had no idea what to expect. Our largest concern was students not showing up or coming for a bit and then disappearing. That issue never came to fruition. Our families and scholars love The Boyce L Ansley School and continue to come no matter what their current situation. We have become the one constant in many of their lives. What we did not anticipate was how quickly we would grow. We are only in our second year and already in need of much greater space than we imagined. In so many ways, this is a great problem to have but as a young organization, space is a hard reach.

I do believe, though, that passion and need are the keys to success. If our team were not so passionate about our mission and vision, we would not have had the drive to do the endless work required to develop and grow this project. Passion, however, does not ensure success. If the community does not see a project as filling an existing need, support does not come. I have seen many passionate people who try to create a need to fit a program. The need must come first.

Then, those with the passion can work fervently to find the best way to fill the gap. The Boyce L Ansley School has proven itself to be filling a great need in our community. The road will be long and difficult as we continue to grow and expand, but with our passion meeting the need of the community, we are certain we will succeed in our mission to offer quality educational opportunities to children who might otherwise be left behind.

We’d love to hear more about your organization.
The Boyce L Ansley School is the only privately funded, tuition-free school exclusively serving children who have experienced homelessness in our area. We are proud of the success of our young scholars. We first met Marie (not her real name) on a warm day last April. She was wearing her winter coat because her mother had recently acquired it for her, and they did not want to risk losing it. Marie and her mother lived under the I-85 overpass.

We kept in touch with Marie and her mother throughout the summer, and in August, Marie enrolled in our Kindergarten class. She was so quiet, withdrawn and timid when she first arrived at school, and even though they still slept on the streets, her mother had her at school each morning dressed in her uniform and ready to learn. Within just a few months, Marie had come out of her shell. She had made friends in her class, learned to write her name, and was making significant progress in every developmental area.

While Marie was in class, her mother worked closely with our Social Worker to connect with resources that would help her move toward stability. Marie and her mother now live in supported housing and are doing so well. All they needed was a place of consistent presence and care to guide them on their journey. The Boyce L Ansley School is honored to be a safe place of learning and becoming for our scholars and their families. Our 30 students will soon become 45 as we add the 1st-grade class next year, and we look forward to accompanying each one, along with their families, on a journey beyond circumstance.

Often it feels as if the media, by and large, is only focused on the obstacles faced by women, but we feel it’s important to also look for the opportunities. In your view, are there opportunities that you see that women are particularly well positioned for?
Women truly are the backbone of our community. The Boyce L Ansley School was started at the grassroots level by five very strong, opinionated, stubborn women. We stood up for what we believed and our passion for protecting and providing for children in our community who might otherwise be left behind. I do not believe that The Boyce L Ansley School would exist today without the drive, strength, and tenacity of these women.

There is a special sort of passion that exists within women that, when harnassed, can make possible the seemingly impossible. I believe that if a woman can identify her passion and match it to filling a need within her community, the only thing that stands between her and real change is the courage to take the first step.

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Image Credit:
The Boyce L Ansley School

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