Robert Burnside had been leading Lakota East High School for years when the district decided to investigate him.
His crime: giving food and a safe place to sleep to Landerius Hayes, a 16-year-old student who became homeless in 2024 after his mother moved outside the school district boundary. Instead of leaving him out of the system, Burnside kept him in classes, allowing him to eat in the cafeteria. District administrators questioned him about where the boy slept and how he got food, and called his actions insubordination.
It cost him his position. Burnside resigned in November 2024 rather than abandon a teenager who needed stability. But he did not stop there: together with his wife Angel, he obtained permanent legal custody of Hayes and brought him into their home, where they were already raising their six children.
In May 2026, Hayes graduated from high school. Burnside was in the audience, but no longer as principal, but as his father. The district wanted to punish an act of humanity and ended up giving a family to a boy who had none.