Friday, February 18^th

Eagles Over Wolves in a Rout

Nadin Khoury is a die-hard Eagles fan who was bullied by a bunch of teenagers at school but had the courage to speak up.

Among the burdens of a married American male are to provide shelter, put food in the cupboards and occasionally sit through showings of "The View."

Which is what my wife and I were doing last week when we saw something that made it hard to speak, much less drink our coffee.

A 13-year-old boy named Nadin Khoury told about how he'd been attacked by seven bigger schoolmates, kicked, beaten, dragged through the snow, stuffed into a tree, and hung on a 7-foot spiked fence, all while adults watched.

The boy was only 5-foot-2, but he'd made up his mind to stand tall no matter how much of his pride bled out. As the brutal video played on a screen behind him, his collar stayed buttoned, his spine straight, but his bottom lip quivered. Read More

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Urban Prep Charter School Again Beats the Odds

All Seniors Accepted to College for Second Year in Row

Fire broke out in Cedric Abdul-Hakeem's Englewood home Dec. 31. After making sure everyone was out safely, the 17-year-old re-entered the smoke-filled home to retrieve his laptop.

"My laptop had all my applications, and most college applications are due Jan. 1," explained Abdul-Hakeem. "I figured if my laptop burns, I'm through."

He got his laptop. He got the applications in on time. And so far, he's been accepted to half a dozen colleges, including Grinnell College in Iowa, where most of his tuition will be paid through scholarships and grants.

Abdul-Hakeem is yet another Urban Prep success story. For the second consecutive year, every single senior in Chicago's only public all-male, all-African-American high school has been accepted to a four-year college or university. Read More

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Homeboy with a Heart

Ten months after shedding 330 of its 427 employees, Homeboy Industries, the East Los Angeles gang intervention program, is slowly regaining its financial footing, founder Fr. Greg Boyle said during a recent visit to Glendale.

"People from all over the country started to send in funds, so we stabilized ourselves," Boyle said. "Probably in the first 45 days we got $3.5 million from all over the country, thanks to the press."

The organization hired back some of those who were laid off, and is employing about 250 ex-gang members, Boyle said last week. Several Homeboy Industries ventures are also flourishing, including new chips and salsa products that Ralphs began selling late last month. Read More

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Obama's 2012 Budget and Youth: A Breakdown

President Barack Obama released his 2012 budget today, which would fund most youth-focused programs and agencies at equal or greater levels to the 2010 appropriations made by Congress, with the exception of juvenile justice programs.

The president's 2012 plan is a sharp contrast to the House Republicans' notions for the rest of fiscal 2011. The House Appropriations Committee submitted a bill to fund the rest of 2011 that would include major cuts to youth programs, including a zeroing out of funds for the Corporation for National and Community Service and YouthBuild. Read More

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Med Centers Partner to Fight Gang Violence

In an effort to fight gang violence in the metro, several of the city's Medical Centers are partnering to research what causes violence and offer help to families affected.

Nebraska Medical Center, University of Nebraska Medical Center, and Creighton University Medical Center will work with Impact One, a community based organization which helps with gang intervention and prevention.

The new partnership will provide a continuous outpouring of support for families, from the time the victim is in the hospital, as they go back into the community. So called "violence interrupters," or people who will help the families, will coach against retaliation and offer support to the victims. Read More

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Web Show Tackles Gang Problems

"How ya doing?" Donnie Sebreros asks. "Welcome to somebody's courtroom."

Just like a television talk show, Sebreros' online "The Donnie Sebreros Show" starts warm and friendly.

But Sebreros quickly turns to life-and-death issues of crime, gangs and what leads young people down those paths.

Sebreros, 48, is a former Southern California gang member who, until his release from prison two years ago, spent most of his teenage and adult life in gangs, using drugs or behind bars.

Now, sitting in a small studio in Visalia – the screen behind him digitally altered to make it look like he's sitting in a courtroom – Sebreros is using technology and drawing on his own, hard life to try to steer youth and young adults away from the mistakes he made.

"I know I was hurt as a kid. ... I used to see my dad come home drunk and my mom and dad fighting. I used to see my dad throw knives at my mom," he said in one of his shows about how growing up without the love and support of his father helped push him to seek approval and what he thought was love from fellow gang members. Read More

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Supporting Reform While Maintaining a Commitment to At-Risk Students

President Obama firmly believes that all children deserve a world-class education. When he says all children, he means all - regardless of their race, ethnicity, disability, native language, income level or zip code.

The President's proposal to fix NCLB focuses on schools and students at-risk, and on meaningful reforms that will help these students succeed. The plan will maintain the federal government's formula programs serving disadvantaged students, English learners, migrant children, and students with disabilities. Many people are speculating that the President wants to make these programs competitive. They are wrong. The President is committed to keeping the historic federal role of providing funding for students who need it most. He does not want the programs dedicated to at-isk students to become competitive. And he does not want to reduce the funds distributed by formula. Read More

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