His District Told Him to Turn the Homeless Kid Away or Lose His Job. He Chose the Kid — Then Adopted Him.

Landerius Hayes was sleeping in his family's car with the heat running because his father's mobile home was too cold. His principal found out, and made a decision that would end a 31-year career.

Hayes, a student at Lakota East High School near Cincinnati, Ohio, became homeless during his junior year after his mother moved out of the school district and living with his father wasn't safe. Under district policy, a student has to attend school wherever their parent legally resides — which meant Hayes was supposed to be unenrolled and transferred elsewhere.

Burnside let Hayes keep attending Lakota East anyway, treating him as though he were still properly enrolled. When the district found out, it gave Burnside an ultimatum: resign, or go through termination proceedings, because leadership no longer believed he could be an "effective leader." Burnside chose to resign.

Burnside and his wife, Angel, talked it over and decided to bring Hayes into their own home so he could finish school with stability. Hayes initially told Burnside he'd rather go live with his mother than see his principal lose his career over him — but Burnside had already made his choice.

With the consent of his biological mother, the Burnsides began legal guardianship proceedings and received permanent legal custody of Hayes in February 2025. Hayes graduated from high school in May 2026, with Rob and Angel Burnside there to watch. Nearly two years after a school district decided Burnside couldn't lead effectively, the boy he refused to give up on calls him dad.