The Principal Was Told a Homeless Teen Couldn’t Stay in His School. He Took the Boy Home Instead, and It Cost Him His Job

Rob Burnside spent 31 years in education. As principal of Lakota East High School near Cincinnati, Ohio, he tried everything to get kids to talk to him. For a while he even wore goofy pants on Fridays.

One of the kids who always said hi in the hallway was Landerius Hayes. Everyone called him DeDe.

“He just dropped everything, smiled at me, and he was like, ‘What’s up, DeDe?’” DeDe remembered.

What the principal didn’t know was that DeDe was homeless. He couldn’t safely live with his mom, and his dad had problems of his own. Some nights the teenager slept in a car with the heat running, because the mobile home where his father lived was too cold.

Then, in his junior year, a letter arrived. His mother had a new address outside the school district, so DeDe had to leave the school.

Most principals would have filled out the paperwork. Rob started asking questions. The district’s answer was no.

That night he told his wife, Angel. Her first words were: “Well, he can come stay with us, if he needs to.” The couple had already adopted two children.

With his mother’s blessing, they made the offer. A few minutes later, Rob’s phone buzzed. It was a message from DeDe: “Hey, Mr. Burnside.”

“I think we just got our answer,” Rob told his wife. DeDe has lived with them ever since.

But Rob had let DeDe keep coming to school, and that decision cost him. He was placed on leave in November 2024 and was told he could step down or face being fired. He resigned.

DeDe offered to go live with his mom so Rob could keep his job. Rob said no. “DeDe, you’re part of this family. We’re not gonna turn our back on you.”

Once the Burnsides became his legal guardians, DeDe could go back to school. Rob still can’t find a principal job in the area. He has no regrets.

“What value can we put on the life of a young person?” he said.

In May 2026, DeDe graduated from high school. In the stands were the two people he now calls Pops and Ma. He is now working toward becoming an aviation mechanic.

Would you have done what Rob and Angel did? Tell us in the comments.