Because parents know it takes a village.
This post originally appeared in The Lakeland Ledger. I was born drug-addicted. I grew up poor with a single mother. I was destined to become a high school dropout, a teen mom, or worse. But I’m not any of those things. Instead, I’m completing my first year at Valencia College in Orlando, and I have […]
February’s shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school was a tragedy no student should have to endure. Seventeen students lost their lives at the hands of a gunman, a fellow student, who got his hands on an AR-15. Marjory Stoneman Douglas and the surrounding community will never be the same again, and that is to […]
About a year and a half ago, Alexandre Antanaitis moved from Brazil to the United States with his family. They settled in south Florida and he enrolled in South Broward High School. As his teachers describe it, it was the school’s computer science program that gave him direction in a “literal foreign land.” Not only […]
We head back to school next week. And, though I’m trying to squeeze in a few more late nights and summer beach bummin’ I have to admit I’m ready for them to head back to the classroom. But while there is a motley crew of age groups rolling around in my house on the last days of summer, I decided to interview them. Here’s what an 8 […]
She responded. And, she’s doing something about it. When we tell educational stories our strongest desire is to connect people. That’s it. Because if we see ourselves in someone else’s life then maybe we behave differently. Maybe we will be a little more patient; not look away from the uncomfortable conditions; strike up a conversation […]
Only 3%! Did you know that only 3% of foster kids graduate college compared to the Florida rate of 76%? I had a chance today to attend the HANDY Organization Scholarship Breakfast for 17 foster kids who graduated college. Breon Callins was one of the graduates. As a little boy, he and his brothers were removed from their […]
She’s turning 12. And in my classic avoidance of throwing a party or hang out with a bunch of pre-teens, I planned a girls trip to New York. We will see Christmas lights and snow if we are lucky. Of course, this is coming from two tropical girls who had to buy coats and closed-toed shoes for […]
I never thought she would become a teacher. Neither did she. But having her first child reignited her life-long passion, and she walked away from corporate America. She did what most of us wouldn’t dare. Keisha Lopez took her Business bachelors and her Management Information Systems masters degree and she jumped into the public school system. Who […]