Ryan gets off the school bus and starts walking towards the worst part of town. Drugs are sold openly on street corners here and homeless people crowd the sidewalk. Ryan and his family have moved around a lot and lived at shelters and in run-down hotels. But they’ve never yet had to sleep on the street, as tens of thousands do here, in tents or on cardboard. After a couple of years Ryan recognises many of the homeless people, but he rarely says hello. Some of them are mentally ill or on drugs and could turn angry or violent if they feel bothered. That’s why Ryan rarely looks people in the eye; it’s safer that way.

During his short walk Ryan has to step over people sleeping on the street, in sleeping bags or wrapped in old blankets. Once he has to jump out the way when an angry old man charges past pushing a shopping cart overflowing with old clothes and odds and ends. Ryan is used to the dirt, the stench and the chaos. He isn’t scared any more but sometimes he sees things he doesn’t want to see. Like the other day, when an old woman squatted to pee on the street corner. Or when a couple were arguing and started fighting on the street and all of a sudden the woman tore all her clothes off and ran around naked. “Nobody should have to live like this,” Ryan thinks to himself.

When he sees the familiar yellow sign brightening up the grey concrete, he feels happy. The round black letters read ‘School on Wheels’. The windows are painted bright colours and when Ryan steps inside he meets Agnes, the founder of the organisation. Ryan knows she’s more than 70 years old, but Agnes talks and jokes around with the kids as though she was one of them.

Retirement, no thanks

Agnes had just retired from her job as a teacher when she read a book that changed her life. The book was about homeless families in the USA. Agnes was shocked to learn that hundreds of thousands of children were homeless and that many of them didn’t go to school. “Retirement will have to wait,” she said to herself. “I’m going to help homeless kids with their schoolwork.”

Agnes started to help out at shelters and schools and met two homeless brothers aged 9 and 11 who wanted her to teach them to read. Agnes prepared all weekend but when she came back on Monday the boys were gone. That made Agnes understand even more about what life is like for homeless children. They never know in advance where they’re going to sleep the next night. Agnes soon found new children who needed her help. But she never forgot the boys who disappeared.

For the first few years Agnes worked alone. She packed her car with schoolbooks, pens, and chalks and drove round to kids in parks and shelters all over Los Angeles. Soon she realised that she needed help and started School on Wheels. The organisation has grown enormously since then. From being just one tutor – Agnes herself – she now has the support of several hundred volunteers who help homeless children with school.

Good listener

Agnes and School on Wheels helped Ryan change schools, and every week he meets his tutor too. “She helps me with my homework and challenges me to do better and never give up,” says Ryan, who remembers the first time he came to School on Wheels. “As soon as I stepped through the door I knew that this would be my learning home. I can focus here. I told Agnes I didn’t have a backpack and she gave me one right away! She’s a really good listener. When I have problems she helps me see the solution and she makes me feel good about myself.”

Agnes says that school is a second home for many children, where they have friends and adults they can talk to and trust. So a homeless child doesn’t just lose one home, but two! Even if they still go to school, they don’t feel comfortable there any more. Like Ryan, who never tells anyone at school that he is homeless. “The kids might not be able to afford backpacks or school supplies, or they might lose their schoolbooks because they’re constantly moving around,” says Agnes. “Then they get into trouble, but don’t dare tell their teachers the truth. They are ashamed and feel different and excluded. In the end many of them quit school.”

Ryan sits down at one of the computers to find information for a school project about airplanes. His ultimate dream is to be a pilot. “I love the internet,” he says. “It’s like the world’s biggest book.” Ryan catches sight of a little girl struggling through a book. He leaves the computer and helps her spell out the words. “Without School on Wheels I would have had a harder time getting through school,” says Ryan. “So I feel good when I can help someone else.”

High standards for tutors

Agnes calls her organisation School on Wheels because her tutors often spend a lot of time on the road. They drive to where the kids are, to schools, libraries, shelters, motels and School on Wheels’ learning rooms. “We have to be the kids’ security,” says Agnes. “They have been let down too many times and they have to know they’re not alone. That there are people who care about them and don’t forget about them.” There are currently around 400 tutors but Agnes wants to double that number. Even so, it is quite difficult to become a School on Wheels volunteer. All potential tutors are checked out carefully. “They have to fill in an application form, hand in fingerprints and a record of convictions, and come to an interview. We have to make sure that each tutor can do a good job and that the kids are safe with them.”

What do Agnes and School on Wheels do?

• Help thousands of children with their studies. Hundreds of tutors work a total of over 30,000 hours every year, for free.
• Create special learning rooms at the shelters, with computers, books and materials for writing and drawing.
• Give backpacks and school supplies to 5000 children every year.
• Give homeless children school uniforms when they need them.
• Have a toll-free telephone number that children can use to stay in touch and ask for help.
• Help children and their parents when they have to change schools.
• Help children and their parents trace lost records, like grades.
• Give parents advice on their children’s education.
• Work in five regions in Southern California, including Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Ventura. School on Wheels also exists in two other states, Indiana and Massachusetts.