Making a Real Difference!

Lately I have been contemplating my life's calling (again). Although I am blessed to have a job that is fairly stress-free, there always is something in me that is a little restless. Like I'm not QUITE where I should be...like there is something else that I could be doing that would be a better fit for both what I believe in and what I'm good at. I've been trying for over 10 years now to figure out what that is and I'm still searching! After over 4 years in education, I have come to the conclusion that although I am extremely passionate about all kids having access to quality education and educational opportunities, I may not be as passionate about being the one to actually GIVE them that education through teaching or the library. However, figuring out a career that would still allow me to play a part in filling some of the educational gaps in communities like this one without necessarily being married to a classroom eludes me.

But there are people that have figured out how to do that in some pretty significant ways...and I really am intrigued by the work they are doing. In fact, I have been spending quite a bit of time thinking about two programs in particular and if it would ever be a possibility for me to be involved in doing something similar.

The first program I heard about several years ago when I was still working with CDM in Turner Courts. An educator from the community had created a program called "The Turner Twelve". Because residents from Turner Courts and the surrounding community had such a low high school graduation rate (only 65%) and with only an estimated 10% ever attending college, Mr. Carter decided to develop a program that would focus on mentoring a select group of kids starting in 6th grade all the way through 12th grade. Twelve 6th grade students from the Turner Courts community were identified and they along with their parents signed a commitment to participating in the program over the next six years, with high school graduation and college being the ultimate goal. All would be first-generation college students.

Mr. Carter began meeting with students on a weekly basis for tutoring, mentoring, college trips, service projects and more. Their attendance and grades at school were closely monitored. Students were encouraged to participate in positive extracurricular activities. They spent time each summer traveling to various colleges and expanding their experiences beyond their South Dallas neighborhood. They met various professionals from the community to serve as role-models and mentors. Mr. Carter has now graduated his first group of 12 and is now focused on his second cycle of students. The second group is on track to graduate in 2011. I'm not sure how many of the original Turner Twelve went on to college, are still in college, or possibly have graduated from college this year (I believe his first class graduated in 2006)...I would really like to know how well the program's objectives were achieved. Regardless, I have always really liked this model and this concept. I've always preferred quality over quantity. I believe by keeping the number of participants small, Mr. Carter was able to build meaningful relationships and provide the depth of support necessary to guide these kids and their families through a myriad of complex obstacles and distractions on their journey to college.
The Turner Courts housing development was torn down last year and all the families moved to various sites around the city, but I'm sure that Mr. Carter has kept in contact with all of the students and continues to work with them toward their goals.

A second program that really inspired me began with a book called The Promise by Oral Lee Brown. Mrs. Brown grew up poor in the Mississippi delta area and later moved to California to try to build a better life. She attended college and later got into real-estate. She was middle-aged and making a modest income of around $45,000 a year when one day her life changed. She was driving through a very distressed part of Oakland on her way to work one morning when she stopped at a corner store to get a snack. A little girl ran up and asked her for some money. Mrs. Brown assumed she wanted candy or soda, but was surprised when the little girl grabbed a loaf of bread, meat, and cheese. Mrs. Brown only had $5, and the total came to $5.86 but the store owner didn't say anything. The little girl ran quickly away before Mrs.Brown could ask the questions that were haunting her. Why wasn't this little girl in school? Where was her parent? Why was she buying food all alone? The thought of this little girl stayed with Mrs. Brown for days. She asked the store owner if he had seen her, but he hadn't. It was bothering her so much that she finally decided to visit the closest elementary school to see if she could find the little girl. (The school was located in an area with abysmal graduation rates and a host of other issues.) She ended up visiting a 1st grade classroom (the age she thought the girl would be) and although she didn't find the girl, she did stay to talk to the 23 students in the room at the teacher's invitation. Before she left that day, she found herself promising those 23 students that if they stayed in school, she would pay for them all to go to college.

Mrs. Brown wasn't one for making empty promises. She pledged to set aside $10,000 a year of her own income in a trust fund for the students. From that point on, she began building relationships with those 23 students. Over the next 12 years of their life, she kept in touch with them, mentored them, and tutored them. At times, she lost touch with 1 or 2 for a period of time, but always ended up re-connecting with them. She worked other jobs and made all kinds of sacrifices to be able to meet her financial commitment to the students. As other people began to hear about her astounding promise, they began to support her financially, adding to the trust fund she had established. All of the original 23 students ended up graduating from high school, and 19 went on to college, which was indeed paid for by Mrs. Brown. (The ones who didn't attend right away did end up going later I believe...have to re-read on that part). Now there is an Oral Brown Foundation that follows this same pattern of mentoring students and eventually paying for their college.

This was one of the most inspiring stories I ever read! Mrs. Brown was just an ordinary woman. She wasn't rich and she wasn't a professional educator. But she was convicted to make a difference and she was unfailingly committed to the students she made a promise to. She became involved in their lives in a meaningful way and she stayed. She helped the students identify goals and dreams they didn't even know they had and then helped make a way for those goals to become reality.

In both the Turner Twelve and the Oral Lee Brown Foundation, the focus is on relationships and mentoring. The focus is making a commitment to a small number of kids and working with them for not weeks, not months, but years of their lives. I think both programs have shown how powerful and effective that can be. A difference can be made, cycles can be broken...one kid at a time.

So, as I've said, I've been thinking a LOT the past few weeks about ideas like these...about South Dallas...about the kids I see every day...about myself and what I believe and what my strengths are...about what is missing in this neighborhood...about the kind of difference I want to help make in the world...and I haven't quite put it all together yet. There are so many great kids with so much potential at this school! How can I be a part of making sure they don't get lost...that they don't slip through the cracks...that they are given every opportunity to take a different path? How can I be a part of making sure they have the education, resources, experiences, and knowledge they need to succeed? How can I build relationships that extend beyond these school walls and remain a resource for these kids even when they leave Pearl C.? How can I be a part of developing dreams and goals for their life that go beyond what they see around them? These thoughts go around and around in my head and I'm not quite sure where to go with them. But regardless, people like Mr. Carter and Mrs. Brown and students in programs like the Turner Twelve and Oral Lee Brown Foundation have really impacted me and have provided a great deal of inspiration. That's what I call making a real difference! How about you?