when i came in to work today, i had two different emails (from two different people) that were requesting the same thing from me: success stories. it must be THAT time of year…. time to convince the funders that we really can do what we say we do. anyway, i am to find students that have completed my program (successfully) who are willing to share their stories with those powers that will decide whether or not we should continue to exist.

so i have been thinking about it on and off. it’s not as simple as just coming up with a couple names. i consider many of my students to be successful, even if the funders might not. ergo, i am trying to consider the ‘who’ carefully. we certainly want to reflect this company in the very best possible light so as to continue to exist!

what makes them successful, though… remember, these are high school drop outs. they come to me with one main purpose: to get their GED. after that, they have to get a job, go to school or enlist in the military.

let me assure you that staying IN high school is the easy way. don’t believe me? talk to my students. as much as i would love to just print out a diploma for each, they have to work really hard, study hard and take a test that lasts over 7 hours to get that certificate. even then, they might do ok on part but not all… which means more studying, more testing and more waiting.

in high school, those student who really don’t excel are still able to ‘float along’ with a C/D average and end up walking across that platform in a cap and gown. even the ones who don’t show up very often are usually able to squeak by.

high schools don’t tell you this, but they are finally being held accountable for the kids who drop out. this is a new thing, and you are likely to see some upsetting statistics in the next few months about what a shitty job our schools really are doing. as i understand it(which means~ please don’t quote me on this but i am pretty sure this is what i heard some time this fall), when students dropped out before, the school could just subtract that student from the # enrolled and go about their business. guess what… now they have to reflect, in their reporting, that they have kids who dropped out! that means… they are being held accountable!  it’s about damn time!

i am already seeing proof of this, btw, in phone calls from local schools. the call usually goes something like this, “hi, i’m so-and-so from such-and-such school district. we had a youth, blabbity blah blah, that we referred to your program (lies!) last fall. could you verify if they completed the program?”  yeah…. they came here. but they brought themselves here. you had nothing to do with it! gah! (ok, i’ll stop now)

back to my students… here’s the thing. their schools-of-origin gave up on them. the teachers and staff probably let out massive sighs of relief when those kids finally dropped out. those kids were no longer their problems (or so they thought).

so those kids often flounder around for a few weeks, months or years. eventually they hear about us from a friend or family member and come on in to see if they can sign up. on that day, they begin a pretty arduous process. there is a great deal of paperwork about if they worked and how much they have made; if they are under 18, i need info on their parents’ income (we are low-income based, so yes there are kids whose families make too much momey to qualify). i need a photo id, birth certificate, social security card and a drop-out letter from the school. all of this gets processed as the individual takes a test to see just how far they have fallen behind.

this test gives a score (in math and reading) of about where the student is performing. now, keep in mind that my students are ages 17-21. i would estimate that the average person tests at about a 5th/6th grade level. every once in a while i get someone who scores at 12.9+ across the board (college level). i also get the occasional 1.2 or .9…. which is hovering between kindergarten and first grade.

how do those kids manage to stay in school, even to age 16, without rising above a first grade level???? yeah… i think it’s time to take a long, hard look at our school systems. but again, i digress.

my point in writing today is that i happen to think a lot of my kids are a success just because they make the decision to come to my class room to sign up. no, this is not a success that they can rest on forever, but hey! at least they made that choice! (i also need to add that many of my students live far away from my classroom and have no transportation, which just adds to their struggles.) so yes, getting here…. that really is a big deal!

as for what sorts of success stories i have here… i mean, the kinds the funders want to hear??? i have students who have gone on to college or tech schools. i have students who work full time. i have students in the military. i have students who have their own businesses. i have students who are parents and doing a damn good job of raising their kids (way better job than their own parents did!). i have students who are doing all the right thigs~ and they did not take the easy road to get there.

think about it…. everyone else has failed them. and yet, they have not given up! it’s often a struggle and i have kids who take more than a year to pass the GED. but they keep trying (when they get out of bed LOL). i say that makes them a success… or at least, heading in the right direction of success 😉