An Ohio principal lost his job in 2024 for helping a homeless student. Then he adopted him.

In 2024, Rob Burnside was principal at Lakota East High School in Cincinnati, Ohio. As far as principals go, he was beloved by students and teachers alike. Highly engaged with the day-to-day, he often sought out unique ways to connect with students.

That was how Burnside became aware of a kid named Landerius Hayes. After a quick first interaction in the hallway, neither could have any idea how both of their lives would soon change.

The pair recently sat down with CBS Mornings to finally tell their side of the story.

During his junior year, Hayes's mother moved out of the school district. Most of the time, a student cannot continue going to school in a district where they do not live full-time. But what made Hayes's situation even more complicated was that it was not safe to live with either his mother or father.

That meant that Hayes was homeless. Sometimes he'd sleep in the car. Sometimes he'd stay at his dad's place. But he didn't have a full-time, stable home. He recalled cold nights sleeping in his dad's mobile home and being hungry most of the time.

When the school district found out about Hayes's living situation, they immediately sent a letter to Lakota East: Hayes could no longer attend school.

The letter was Burnside's first knowledge of what Hayes was going through. He pushed back on the district, demanded an explanation, and asked for an exception. None was granted.

Without a permanent home in the district, Hayes would have to leave school. And he had nowhere else to go.

The statistics on children in school who are experiencing homelessness or instability at home are grim, to say the least. For starters, it affects more people than we think. Recent data from SchoolHouse Connection shows that about 1.5 million students in American public schools struggle with homelessness.

Without stability and support at home, only about 70% are lucky enough to graduate high school.

Burnside, all too aware of what was at stake, decided to take matters into his own hands. He brought Hayes, or DeDe for short, into his own home, let him live there with his own children and wife, and, as principal, allowed him to keep attending school.

The school district found out about what Burnside was doing and sent him a letter: he could either resign, or face being terminated.

He chose to leave his post willingly.

Hayes tried to keep his principal from getting fired. CBS News reports that Hayes told Burnside he would go live with his mother. He didn't want his principal getting fired.

"'DeDe, you're part of this family," Burnside recalls telling him. "We're not gonna turn our back on you."

But the story doesn't end there. Determined to keep Hayes on the path toward graduation, Burnside began pursuing his legal options. Burnside and his wife, Angel, had adopted two children before, so they knew the system.

A year later, they became Hayes's permanent legal guardians.

That meant he could return to school in the district— although at a different school—this time with a safe place to live. And, in May of 2026, Hayes crossed the stage with his fellow graduates, officially defying the odds. He is now pursuing a career as an aviation mechanic.

"When I think about it now, it's like I don't know how I'm here. Yeah. I just don't know," he told CBS. "At first, I was in a cold car, barely eating, barely in a school, just trying to be a good person. And now, it's just, I'm eating now. I'm in the house, being a kid. Now, every time when I think about it, it's just, wow, how did I do it?"

All is not forgiven in the state of Ohio, however. Burnside never returned to his role as principal and has been unable to get another job in education in the area.

For his part, he admits that he could have handled things better with the district and been more transparent about what he was doing to help Hayes.

"I own the fact that my communication could have been better. Maybe I didn't ask the right questions," he told the Cincinnati Enquirer. "But I had nothing to gain out of this other than this is a kid that I care about, our school cares about, and we want to help."

Burnside is now working as a Training and Compliance Manager for a workwear supply company. And, of course, he's a father of a total of seven, including DeDe.

He told CBS that he has no regrets.

The McKinney-Vento Act is "a federal law that provides important educational rights and services to PreK-12 children and youth experiencing homelessness," per SchoolHouse Connection. It's meant to provide support and protection for students like Hayes, and it often allows students to stay at their home school if it's in their best interest.

It's not clear if Hayes didn't qualify for the support or where the ball was dropped along the way, but a kid with a bright future very nearly slipped through the cracks. He would have, too, if it weren't for the selfless actions of this high school principal who went far above and beyond the call of duty.

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