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Why does Jeffery
want to work
with At-Risk
Teens?
Straight up… because he himself
was an At-Risk Teen.
He was smart, had a lot of friends, and
was talented in music. While being very
creative and appearing generally happy 99%
of the time, most did not see the struggle
he faced to feel as though he could fit
in. Jeffery had a problem with making good
grades and had a huge lack of abilities in
completing and understanding his school
work.
Since Grade school, Jeffery's grades were
always falling much lower than his
classmates. This made fitting in much
harder. There were many times he was made
to feel like he was a loser for not having
the better grades, better clothes, or the
right abilities. Add ADHD to the mix, and
the obnoxious behaivior simply didn't
help. The struggle continued for several
years as he tried everything possible to
be a better student… but it just
wasn’t happening.
In 9th grade, Jeffery was accepted into
the Visual and Performing Arts program
at Booker High School as a musician.
While being accepted into the program was
a huge milestone, a larger challenge was
ahead of him. Jeffery had to keep at least
a 1.5 GPA to stay in the program. It took
everything he had and he was barely making
it. It never got better.
By 11th Grade, Jeffery had given up and
dropped out of regular High School at the
recommendation of a school guidance
counselor. He was accepted into New
Directions, an Alternative High School
which helped students just like him.
Students there were allowed to work on
assignments at thier own pace and test
through them. With much patience from his
new teachers, he finally graduated 3 years
later.
About a month before graduation, a youth
worker at his church, who happened to be a
behavioral specialist, had noticed certain
issues and recommended that he get tested
for disabilities.
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Testing found that
Jeffery was ADHD, which was
a new classification for them at the time,
and that he had an Audible Language
Deficit that was keeping him from
processing and understanding verbal
information… general speech.
Finally, an answer to why he had been
struggling! For the first time, Jeffery
was able to see that he was not stupid!
This discovery opened up a whole new world
to Jeffery even though his school
resources and options to go to college had
run out with graduation only a month
away,
Jeffery found himself needing to relearn
how to function in this new realm of
learning disability. It was only through
help from mentors that he was able to
begin the process of overcoming shortfalls
associated with these disabilities and
develop the tools necessary to become a
productive part of society. For the first
time, he began to accomplish the goals
that were in front of him.
Mentors… that’s what helped him
realize his potential. People who were
there to encourage him to do better, dream
better, as well as help him understand his
shortfalls. Jeffery was fortunate to also
have family as mentors.
Jeffery has spent the past 20 years
developing tools to overcome his
shortfalls. He makes lists, writes things
out, and keeps a certain amount of
organizational tools with him at all
times… In life, He succeeds, he
fails, and he learns. Without the
essential tools, Succeeding, and learning
would be severely hindered.
Kids need mentors, people who can
encourage them to do better, be better,
and do it with compassion. These students
need people who can bring out the best in
what most people label as the worst. If
Jeffery didn't have his mentors, he
wouldn’t be functioning at this time
with a positive attitude and a proper
understanding of his responsibility to
himself, his family and the rest of the
world.
Why work with At-Risk
Teens… because there’s a huge
need, and he can make a difference.
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