09/10/25

RBC Grantee Spotlight: Gateway Science Academy

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Gateway Science Academy (GSA) is using its $2,500 Reinvention by Community (RBC) grant to expand critical transportation services for students experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity. By operating its own van and employing a dedicated driver, GSA ensures reliable, safe, and cost-effective transportation for students, removing a major barrier to school attendance and overall stability. This funding extends the reach of on-campus counselors, food pantries, laundry, and health/vision care partnerships—helping more students stay connected to school, stable, and ready to learn. This grant is part of The Opportunity Trust’s Reinvention by Community initiative, which empowers the community to choose where and how funding is allocated. Now in its fifth cycle, RBC has invested nearly $300,000 in addressing urgent challenges in and beyond schools. Gateway Science Academy is one of six grantees in the 2025 cycle focused on housing insecurity—a need made even more acute by the May 2025 tornado’s aftermath.

A Community Hub Beyond Academics

At GSA, the work goes far beyond academics. “Schools are really the center of the community,” said Brian Schick, Director of Teaching and Learning. “It all begins with the environment you create. It all begins with community. It all starts with relationships. You can’t get too good at learning if you’re not taking care of the people.”

That philosophy guides the district’s approach to supporting its unhoused and housing-insecure students. GSA has implemented a food pantry, washers and dryers, and partnerships to provide medical, dental, and vision services. These supports ensure students have access to basic needs—allowing them to focus on learning rather than daily survival.

Transportation as a Lifeline

“The grant is specifically going to support our efforts to provide transportation for our students who are experiencing homelessness,” Schick explained.

Because of the RBC grant, GSA can drastically reduce their reliance on outside transportation companies, which are often expensive and inconsistent, the school used the funds to purchase a dedicated van and hire a staff member whose primary job is to transport these students.

“We control the quality of the person driving, we control the quality of the vehicle, make sure it’s maintained—all those kinds of things that you sometimes wonder when you’re just contracting with some other service. So we’ve taken that on,” Schick said.

Coordination is a team effort, with GSA’s assistant superintendent and social worker identifying which students need transportation and mapping daily pick-up and drop-off routes from shelters, family members’ homes, or other temporary living arrangements.

Meeting Growing Needs

The need for these services is increasing. “We have, over the last couple of years, seen an increase in the number of students who identify as unhoused or homeless,” Schick said. He noted that recent economic challenges and the May 2025 tornado have only added to the strain.

GSA is also collaborating with other local charter schools to share best practices and identify additional resources. “We need to make sure we’re doing our due diligence to provide them with the homeless student information, the McKinney-Vento law, and make sure we’re understanding if there are other needs out there that we’re not aware of?” Schick said.

Partnerships That Make a Difference

For Schick, the RBC grant is more than a funding boost, it’s a signal that the work of supporting students holistically matters. “Anytime we have that support from an organization, especially The Opportunity Trust, it makes a difference. It makes it shared. We’re not alone in our work. We have thought partners, we have funding partners, those are the things that help us meet those challenges,” he said.

By removing barriers to transportation and providing wraparound supports, GSA is creating stability and opportunity for its most vulnerable students, ensuring they not only get to school but also have the resources to succeed when they arrive. For more information on GSA’s transportation services, visit Gateway Science Academy’s website.

Follow us on LinkedIn for more updates on the 2025 RBC grantees and the impact they’re making in classrooms and communities across St. Louis.

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