Even though there are no classes this week in the Dallas Independent School District, a dozen campuses opened their doors to make sure children still get breakfast and lunch.
The district estimates at least 1,000 kids will receive those free meals through Wednesday.
At James Bowie Elementary School, one teacher is feeding the students' hunger to learn as well.
"I'm just fulfilling my responsibility of being a steward of this community," said third grade teacher Adan Gonzalez. "There's kids who don't have access to a hot meal, but beyond that, today, the incentive was for them to learn."
Gonzalez doesn't have to be here, but he says these kids deserve it.
"We could only hope that they would be somewhere they are being fed and somewhere warm, especially in the winter," he said. "But we can't take chances, and I think that's why it's important to have these initiatives where we are opening our doors to our community and saying, 'This is your school, we're serving you.'"
Nearly two dozen children showed up Monday, not just for a warm meal, but also to learn, including Vivian Arechar, a fourth grader who wants to be a police officer when she grows up.
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"I'm going to help the community," she said with a smile.
The students were learning from someone they trust, because Adan knows what they're going through.
"I walked the same streets that they're walking right now. I know how it feels to see your parents struggle," he said.
Not long ago, he was a student at Bowie, and later he graduated from Georgetown University and then grad school at Harvard.
Now he's focused on the next generation, one day at a time.
"I want them to be better than me," he said.
MORE: For the list of Dallas ISD schools serving free breakfast and lunch this week, click here.
