The following stories are real accounts from teachers in the Frederick County Public School System. To protect student privacy, real names have not been used.

“Sally”

Sally came to FHS two years ago, as what her middle school called a “basket case”. She lives in poverty, and had been passed on with a D average. Her sister attended FHS, but was expelled for persistent violence. She now lives with her grandmother (her mother passed away when she was 8) in public housing, and frequently watches her sisters’ three children during her sister’s frequent incarcerations. She struggles with processing difficulties, and is very quick to become angry and despondent with teachers/the school if she feels that she is not being given enough attention. After placement in the SAFE program for dropout prevention, and support through our EXCEL program for academics, she was on honor roll her first term. She had been placed in low-level classes due to her previous academic performance, but moved up one level for the spring semester. She finished the year with a C average for her first year, and was active in two clubs and ran track in the spring. The thing that made the difference for this child was a staff that simply would not give up on her, and unconditional positive regard when confronted with the mistakes that she sometimes made. This past year (10^th grade) our mantra has been to move her toward greater self-sufficiency, though she still stays after school nearly every day to work on academics or talk over her problems. She has NO functional adult model at home to turn to, and has always sought those out at school. Her grades have not risen significantly this year, but she is more socially active, and regularly attends extracurricular activities with friends. One hallmark of her progress is that she has begun to advocate for herself with teachers, and is much more self-analytical about her struggles academically. As it stands now, she will likely graduate, and has begun to express interest in schooling after that (she is quite a good poet).

“Dan”

Dan came into our school with solid grades, and profound athletic ability, but with extreme anger problems. His sister who had attended here manifested some of the same behaviors, and was eventually locked-up with multiple assault charges under her belt. It was not uncommon for him to cuss a teacher out, or act violently toward other students to get his way. He could be a charismatic guy, and had definite academic ability-but it was hijacked by anger at least once a day. He grudgingly participated in the SAFE program 1^st period that focuses on anger management, and social skills. He was not suspended at all in his first year or second, whereas he had the second highest number of administrative referrals in his middle school. When we began we were simply trying to avoid placement in our alternative school due to his extreme anger, but as time went on our goals became far more proactive. He went on in his freshman year to earn a B average, and participate in both football and basketball. This year, he is maintaining a B average, has no referrals, and is a team leader on the basketball team. One of the largest shifts for Dan was changing his peer group to the extent that children who were more self- destructive were not included so prominently. One of the foci of the morning SAFE program is that at times you must “choose achievement over relationships” if you want to change your level of success.