Students Speak Out
“For me, T1L1 has helped me to open up my perspective again to how people think and how my life is so much more than just high school…[its] helped students with the battles in their minds. Showing us how to slow down and think about what we are doing now and challenging us to improve ourselves… Taking time to show us that change makes all the difference.” Skyler, 9th Grade
“Our mentors teach us to put time into friendships… In High School, we have to pick and choose wisely and our mentors give us the skills to identify the right and wrong path…and using self-control.” Lily, Riley, Morgan and Victoria
Can You Hear Me Now?
This question became a very successful multi-year marketing campaign for Verizon wireless in 2002, promoting the company’s wireless network coverage and differentiating it from other providers. I am using it here as an emblem of what our unified efforts have beyond phone reception: Students are calling out and what we offer is beyond what I have ever seen before. We answer by our mentorship, our T1L1 program, and our funding. We have picked up the metaphorical phone. And the calls keep coming, so much so that we need to keep ‘adding a line’ with more mentors and funding to support the calls.
“Thank you for being apart of answering that call.”
The student calls may not be as blatant as a resounding ringtone. It is subtle, AirPods in the ears, phones in-hand, and hoodies over their sleep-deprived glazed faces. But starving for truth and someone to enter their world. I have witnessed them first-hand, week-in-and-week-out, lean in to our group discussions and speak out in our small groups. Thank you for being apart of answering that call.
Shooting, Stabbings & A Gate
Recently, a school shooting and stabbing happened in one district just a few weeks apart. I walked on a campus to find a new barred gate installed. Yes, we need to protect these students physically, but it is so powerful to grasp the gate syncronously with grasping the truth found in our curriculum on Self-Control and Integrity.
