{"id":571331,"date":"2021-04-28T07:01:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-28T11:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/?post_type=article&#038;p=571331"},"modified":"2021-04-27T14:56:45","modified_gmt":"2021-04-27T18:56:45","slug":"im-more-than-my-mistakes-finding-a-second-chance-at-new-jerseys-only-alternative-charter-high-school","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/article\/im-more-than-my-mistakes-finding-a-second-chance-at-new-jerseys-only-alternative-charter-high-school\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I\u2019m More Than My Mistakes\u2019: Finding a Second Chance at New Jersey\u2019s Only Alternative Charter High School"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>This essay first appeared in <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nj.com\/\"><em>The Star-Ledger<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"drop-cap\">N<\/span>o one ever cared when I didn\u2019t get into fights. How I bit my tongue when girls were talking behind my back or when I walked away from confrontations.<\/p>\n<p>At my old school, if you had a problem with somebody, you had to handle it yourself. The school never cared about me; they only cared that I was obedient. But eventually, everybody has their breaking point. For me, it was after months of these upper class girls pushing my buttons and pushing me to my limits until I fought them.<\/p>\n<p>When I was being harassed by bullies, I couldn\u2019t turn to anyone for help. At that time, I handled my problems by using my hands and running my mouth, which usually landed me in the principal\u2019s office or expelled from my school. There\u2019s thousands of kids across New Jersey just like me getting pushed out of schools with no safety net. Just last year, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nj.com\/education\/2020\/11\/nj-saw-alarming-increase-in-school-discipline-9-of-states-black-students-suspended.html\">NJ.com reported nearly 56,000 students were suspended either in or out of school in 2018-19. That\u2019s 4 percent more than the year before. That\u2019s 9 percent of the entire population of Black students in the state.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>And once you\u2019re out, if you\u2019re not in school or working a job, you usually end up at a state youth prison like Jamesburg or Hayes, <a href=\"https:\/\/d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net\/njisj\/pages\/712\/attachments\/original\/1595949294\/Updated_%287-2020%29_150_Years_is_Enough_Vision_Document_%28ks%29_%28am%29_%281%29.pdf?1595949294\">especially if you\u2019re Black or Latino<\/a>. It\u2019s time to make sure youth like me have the support they need, so they don\u2019t end up in jail and wasting their potential.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"inline_story shortcode simple\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/article\/4-5-million-young-people-nationwide-are-not-working-or-in-school-how-cities-are-working-to-get-them-back-on-track-avoid-the-school-to-prison-pipeline\/\"><figure style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Opportunity-Youth-Camino.jpg);\"><\/figure><div><span class=\"sans related_tag\">Related<\/span><h4 class=\"sans\">4.5 Million Young People Nationwide Are\u00a0Not Working or in School. How\u00a0Cities Are Working to Get Them Back on Track \u2014 &#038;\u00a0Avoid the School-to-Prison Pipeline<\/h4><\/div><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>I found the support I needed at LEAD Charter School in Newark<strong>,<\/strong> New Jersey\u2019s first \u2014 and only \u2014&nbsp;alternative charter high school designed for young people, ages 16 to 24, looking to get back on track, get their diploma and get a job. At LEAD, we use the <a href=\"https:\/\/youthbuild.org\/\">YouthBuild<\/a> model of community building, leadership development and self-improvement to become better learners, workers and leaders in our community.<\/p>\n<p>When I first joined LEAD, I went through a two-week process called Mental Toughness that pulled me completely out of my comfort zone. I spoke with different people from different backgrounds, explored my feelings, and had a community of people holding me accountable. If I was late, I had to own it. I couldn\u2019t make excuses. And I had to start applying myself. I had to face some hard truths and decide what type of So\u2019Nya did I want to be?<\/p>\n<p>Everybody that you connect with at LEAD is here for the same thing; they\u2019re here to push you ahead, and when you\u2019re surrounded by that kind of energy, it makes you want to change.<\/p>\n<p>And it wasn\u2019t just the students. The staff care about us and want us to succeed. They push us to do our best and they understand acceptance isn\u2019t always at home, so they make LEAD feel like home. The community helped me decide that I want to be the So\u2019Nya that fights for my future.<\/p>\n<p>Every student deserves a school community that wants to see them succeed. A place that supports your mental health, your social-emotional health and gives you the tools you need to be the best version of yourself.<\/p>\n<p>LEAD changed me for the better, and I know students across Newark would also thrive, if they had a community like LEAD to turn to. If the goal is to help young people be their best, LEAD is doing that work \u2014 and with a fraction of the budget. In the 2019-20 school year, 12.2 percent of young people with priors reoffended while 52.4 percent of youth released in 2016 reoffended within three years of their release. <a href=\"https:\/\/d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net\/njisj\/pages\/982\/attachments\/original\/1520007695\/BordentownFinalCompressed.pdf?1520007695\">The New Jersey Institute of Social Justice reported that the state spends $289,287 a year for every young person locked up,<\/a> while LEAD spends $16,000 a year per student with better results.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"inline_story shortcode simple\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/article\/charters-close-achievement-gap-with-district-schools-study-finds-with-black-and-low-income-students-making-the-greatest-gains\/\"><figure style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Screen-Shot-2020-09-02-at-3.14.07-PM.jpg);\"><\/figure><div><span class=\"sans related_tag\">Related<\/span><h4 class=\"sans\">Charters Close Achievement Gap With District Schools, Study Finds, With Black and Low-Income Students Making the Greatest Gains<\/h4><\/div><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>Programs like LEAD and YouthBuild Newark are making a difference in the lives of young people throughout New Jersey. State leaders must act now and pass bills like the <a href=\"https:\/\/legiscan.com\/NJ\/bill\/S2924\/2020\">Restorative and Transformative Justice for Youths and Communities Pilot Program bill<\/a>, to support and grow these programs, so they can keep changing lives.<\/p>\n<p>My past is always going to be my past, but I am more than my mistakes. Every student deserves someone in their corner, so they can know that success is possible for them too.<\/p>\n<p><em>So\u2019Nya Jordan is a 2020 graduate of LEAD Charter School in Newark, New Jersey. She is currently applying for nursing school.<\/em><\/p>\n<aside class=\"inline_story shortcode simple\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/newsletter\/\"><figure style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/the74million_logo.png);\"><\/figure><div><span class=\"sans related_tag\">Related<\/span><h4 class=\"sans\">Sign up for The 74\u2019s newsletter<\/h4><\/div><\/a><\/aside>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This essay first appeared in The Star-Ledger. No one ever cared when I didn\u2019t get into fights. How I bit my tongue when girls were talking behind my back or when I walked away from confrontations. At my old school, if you had a problem with somebody, you had to handle it yourself. The school [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":571336,"menu_order":0,"template":"","categories":[191],"tags":[969,1023],"series":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/571331"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/571331\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":571357,"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/571331\/revisions\/571357"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/571336"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=571331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=571331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=571331"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=571331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}