After AP's missing students investigation, children return to school
ATLANTA (AP) — Four months after The Associated Press wrote about an Atlanta family struggling to enroll in school, all of the children — in a complete turnaround — returned to class last month. The project on Monday was named a Pulitzer Prize finalist.
The youngest child, an energetic 8-year-old girl, had never attended school before. On her first day, she was greeted at her home by a half dozen children from around the apartment block, who escorted her to the bus stop, her mother said.
“I was most excited for her,” said Tameka. “My other children, they know what school’s like. I want that experience for her.”
(Tameka is her middle name. The AP has withheld her full name because she runs the risk of jail time or losing custody since her kids haven’t been in school.)
The final child, a student with Down syndrome, started school last Tuesday, Tameka said.