Liberty Charter High School, based out of Lemon Grove and newly installed on the former Alpine Elementary school campus is about a 30 minute drive from the Monarch school in San Diego. They are close enough that both service San Diego county students, and both are part of the CIF Frontier conference with kids who don sports’ uniforms adorned with their school logo. However, the students at Monarch have an added challenge off the field: they are considered unhoused.
Although an Oct. 1 flag football game between the two schools was held in Alpine, the match closed with a gift for Monarch students and staff from the other side of the county: each of their players and coaches was given a football, a custom- designed hoodie, and an athletic bag.
LCHS Director of Athletics Linn Dunton said the school raised funds to purchase all the items for their on-field opponents because one of the most important life skills any student can learn is empathy.
“To teach empathy, you have to understand and feel what someone else is going through. The kids at Monarch school have tough lives but athletes all have a common goal: to get better at what they’re doing,” Dunton said.
Monarch Athletic Director Chuy Nunez described the school as the only school of its kind in the county. Staff refers to students as ‘unhoused’ to avoid the stigma of being labeled homeless but the reality is their student population contends with all the challenges students face, from homework to tests while also passing through tough living situations.
“I think there’s such a stigma around being unhoused and I can’t stress enough the latent potential our students have. San Diego County Office of Education has over 20,000 students in an unhoused situation… you see the difficulties of not having stable housing, you see students are dealing with active trauma situations like the instability of not having an established residence, the lack of foundation,” Nunez said.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, he said, places shelter among the most basic requirements.
“Unhoused students have to worry about those most basic needs. Post-pandemic, we’re also seeing a rise in concerning mental health situations,” Nunez said, with challenges he said no student should have to face.
However, when students participate in sports, he said, they’re a part of a level situation. With pride in his voice, the athletic director said the Monarch school’s girls volleyball team is currently ranked third in the county for their division, a fact that has nothing to do with their housing status.
Sports practices, Nunez said, are “the last classroom of the day” where lessons extend beyond the field and sports courts.
“Coachable student athletes become employable adults there’s no other life lessons like that,” Nunez said.
In addition to the sporting equipment gifts for Monarch school, LCHS is also reaching beyond their own student population for their annual Block Out Cancer fundraiser on Oct. 13 held at Joan MacQueen Middle School.
