Reflections From Incarcerated Students

The school and students featured in our March 2016 Newsletter must remain anonymous for student privacy and security, therefore we will not name the students who wrote the following letters. What we can tell you is these students are incarcerated and living in a residential County and Community School.

Student 1: His teacher said this about him, "This is from an 11th grader reading at a 2nd grade reading level. He earned C's my first quarter with him, then a B the next quarter, and an A- the quarter that just ended. His scores are mediocre to below grade level on tests but he retakes them and does a really great job on homework, class work and organization."

Transcript: "I have success with an Organized Binder. An Organized Binder has helped me be more organized and access my assignments easier. I like keeping an Organized Binder because it keeps my self discipline and helps alot in school and in longrun. I dislike it sometimes because I have to organize it on the daily basis. It is different by everything is organized because I used to throw everything in my binder before my stay in Camp. It is helpful to keep it organized because I spend less time looking for papers. I like G's (Academic Toolkit pages) because it helps me when I have a hard time making an assignments. The Organized Binder affects me as student by having your grades on binder checks. I would recommend this to all youth because it makes it easier for your self in school."

Student 2: His teacher said this about him, "This student is a 10th grader who wanted to do well academically on "the outs" but did not have the strategies. Instead of nearly stacking his papers in his backpack, he has them neatly organized in his binder now. He admitted to never making goals before camp and now he is accomplishing the ones he sets for himself, including earning straight A's this past quarter. He was part of a culinary arts program in the morning for six weeks and Organized Binder helped him stay on track despite missing morning classes. Even today, he was out at the DMV in the morning and asked to come in during lunch for only a few minutes to get his B, C and H pages caught up, so he knew his homework for the weekend. The clear consistency of the binder allows this student, who was already motivated all on his own, know what to ask for and complete to be successful."

Transcript 1: "My goal this quarter is to keep good grades when I get out of camp. It is important for me because I want to be caught up for my junior year. I will accomplish it by doing every assignment I get in class to maintain my grade. In the past when I was "out" I did not have any goals. I barely started making goals when I got to camp. My goals before were to get A's in every class. I have accomplished my grades and some I didn't because other programs got in the way. I will be sure to complete all work handed to me once I get out."

Transcript 2: "Yes I have success with my Organized Binder. I have no problems with my binder because when I am looking for something I can find it easily. I like how when I am missing an assignment I know where to look for it. I have nothing I don't like at organized binder. This organized binder is different because I used to just stack my papers neatly and put them in my backpack. It is helpful for me because I don't spend a lot of time looking for things. I like the H page because to me that is what keeps me organized. My organized binder affects me by keeping me on track and causing me to stress less. I would recommend this to anyone who has trouble with being organized."