A principal lost his job to keep DeDe enrolled

Rob Burnside was principal at Lakota East High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, when he learned that a junior named Landerius Hayes had nowhere to live. Hayes, known as DeDe, was sleeping in a car and sometimes in his father's mobile home, and the district had sent a letter saying he could no longer attend school without a permanent home in the area. Burnside pushed back and asked for an exception. He was told no. So he brought Hayes into his own house and kept him enrolled. When the district found out, it gave Burnside a choice: resign or be terminated. He resigned. Hayes offered to leave, not wanting his principal to lose his job. "DeDe, you're part of this family," Burnside recalls telling him. "We're not gonna turn our back on you." A year later, Burnside and his wife, Angel, became Hayes's legal guardians. Hayes graduated in May 2026. He is now training as an aviation mechanic. Burnside is a father of seven, and says he has no regrets.