The Reading School District has begun construction of a space dedicated to supporting students experiencing homelessness, district officials have announced.
The Knight’s Keep at Reading High School will help address the essential needs of such students, the district said.
The initiative grew from the success of the district’s Knight’s Closet program. Named after the district’s Red Knights mascot, the closet provides students with necessities like food, clothing, hygiene products and school supplies.
The Knight’s Keep will significantly expand that support by offering essential amenities in an area on the lower level of a building on the high school campus.
Features include a kitchenette, entertainment space, laundry area, study room and ADA-compliant shower facilities.
Conceptualized by the high school’s social work team, the Knight’s Keep is inspired by the fortified towers, called keeps, built within medieval castles and used for refuge.
“The Knight’s Keep is a crucial resource in our commitment to supporting our students who face challenges in accessing essential resources,” Dr. Jennifer Murray, superintendent, said in a release. “Going beyond providing basic necessities, it seeks to restore dignity by eliminating the stigma associated with their challenges.”
Many of the students in need have a place to sleep but may still need resources to support their overall well-being, such as laundry facilities and study space, she said.
The facility will be open schooldays from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and staffed with social workers and counselors to provide additional support.
Construction began this month with a target completion date in August in time for the 2024-25 school year.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony is planned to mark the official opening.
The district also aims to extend the initiative to the new science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, academy under construction at Ninth and Douglass streets.
Plans are for that space to be operational in the 2025-26 school year.
Officials said 887 district students were unhoused during the 2021-22 school year. Though the number dropped to 583, including 275 high school students, the following school year, the district anticipates an increase in homelessness and is awaiting the official release of updated figures by the state Department of Education.
To view a rendering of the Knight’s Keep at Reading High School, please visit bit.ly/rhskinghtskeeprendering.
To learn more about the Reading School District’s Knight’s Closet or to donate supplies, visit readingsd.org/Page/403.
Source: Berkshire mont
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