Third and fourth-grade students at Capital City Public Charter School in Washington D.C. were involved in a study of homelessness – why it occurs in their city, who is helping the homeless, and what they can do as young citizens to help. The school is located in an area with a large homeless population, including a number of school families. In small research teams with adult leadership, students interviewed local organizations that support the homeless and interviewed homeless citizens themselves. One of the products of their study was this ABC book designed to teach younger children about the humanity and challenges of homeless people; each student wrote and illustrated a page.

The class received a grant to produce copies of the book for the school community and to be given to agencies that support homeless families. When asked about “what changed” as a result of the project, one student responded: “Everything changed. Now we know the names of the homeless people around our school and they know us; we say good morning to them and they say good morning to us.” Four years later, when President Obama visited the school just after his inauguration, students presented a copy of the book to him.