How the Samueli Academy is Santa Ana is helping Foster Youth Achieve Success

Joshua Howard shuttled between seven foster and group homes and attended 10 elementary and middle schools by the time he was 14. He was convinced he would never graduate from high school. He rarely studied or turned in his homework, and he often felt lost in class.

When Howard began his freshman year at an Orange County high school with more than 3,000 students, the experience was impersonal and alienating. He considered dropping out before the end of the year. Then a mentor who worked with foster children told him about Samueli Academy in Santa Ana, a public charter school designed to help serve foster youth. At Samueli, Howard found the academic support, sense of belonging, and caring approach from teachers and administrators that he’d never encountered. Read more here.