I had a dream. I first announced it here. There you will find details and important links.
Here are links to a few of the books helping guide and motivate me with this dream. Here is a must read NY Times article.
Here are the videos about the Seed School.
Here is the 60 minutes video about Cristo Rey.
I said “had” above because the dream is becoming reality.
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This was actually one of the things that was on my heart and that I was praying for this morning! Keep changing the world!!
So they are saying that the only way to help these kids is to take them out of their families and allow the school administrators raise them?
If I were the parent of one of these kids I am not sure I would attend the lottery let alone cheer when my child was selected to be removed from my home out of the child's best interest.
I cannot say that I agree with having a child "ripped" away from their parent(s). But I agree with models that work. It can never be in a child's best interest to grow up in a neighborhood where his/her life is on the line each and everyday. Nor is it in a child's best interest to send her/him to school where he/she will receive a substandard education, which is what happens to inner-city kids around this country.
There are pros and cons to all that we do, but the pros far outweigh the cons in this scenario. The parents featured realize that their children are being given a chance at something better, and know that their children are not being taken from them never to be seen again, but are being introduced to world they would otherwise never know.
My daughter attends a boarding school in CT while our family lives in Atlanta. Even though it is hard being without her, we have never regretted giving her the opportunity that comes from being at a boarding school where she has access to the best that education has to offer 24/7. Kids don't choose the families they are born into. So why shouldn't inner-city kids have these same educational opportunities that kids from wealthy families take for granted? I say yea, and Amen to the parents, educators, and community members who had enough vision and determination to do whatever it takes to give their children a better future.
I have mixed feelings about boarding schools. We have a couple SEED schools here in the DC metro area. Also, I work with a young men in the juvenile court system (who often we remove from home and place in other placements). My issue is this, we remove them from the home environment and place them in a control group so to speak. They receive all the services they need and sometimes are very successful. But these kids go home for summer vacation and winter/spring break and sometimes bad things happen. I believe in the SEED schools the students go home on the weekend. So they return to the the environment that has not changed. We see the same thing happen with these athletes when they go home and get into trouble with their old friends back home.
Major kudos to you with your dream for a school. I hope you accomplish it. It's a task that requires your whole heart in it. Best of luck.
Shaun, where do I sign up to be a part of this? This is EXACTLY what I dream about when I dream of opening a school. How can I be apart of this? My mission in life is to bring hope through education, love, and prayer. Can I teach?