Alternative school honored

Julian Begaye's only family is the staff and students at Burk Horizon High School.

The 17-year-old's father died when he was a baby, and his mother: "She did what some moms do. She left me," he said.

Since he was abandoned by his mother at the age of 6, Begaye's life has been without much stability. By the time he was 11, he was living on the streets in Albuquerque. Later, relatives and friends took him in from time to time, but most nights were spent doing what he called "couch surfing."

"I'd stay at one friend's house for a couple of days. Then I'd run away for a while, Then I'd go somewhere else.

"I was selling drugs, gang banging, doing a lot of stupid stuff," he said.

Today, Begaye has his act together. He plans to graduate from school in the spring and now lives independently with assistance from the Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth. He credits Burk Horizon and the implementation of Community of Caring for helping him get his life on track.

Begaye and classmates at the alternative school for at-risk youth said public recognition for their achievements was the last thing they expected. But it is exactly what they got.

The school received three of nine awards from the University of Utah's Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Center for Community of Caring last week.

It is the first time the organization, which promotes character development as a pathway to academic achievement, has ever recognized an alternative school.

Students said outsiders see them only as teen parents, drug and alcohol abusers, school skippers and academic failures.

"People look at us and don't expect us to win awards. They don't know that we are good kids. We get along here," said high school senior Joseph Gilardi, 17.

Burk Horizon was named the most outstanding secondary school.

The school's principal, Ron Lustig, was named the outstanding secondary school administrator.

And Reggie Turner, director of community relations at the Palms, was named the outstanding adult advocate for his work with the students.

Lustig said the Community of Caring approach has led to greater student success. On average, students involved in the mentoring program improved their grade-point average by one point. Lustig said he has seen a decrease in unexcused absences and disciplinary incidents.

Character education is a comprehensive approach to learning that helps students make good decisions based on the values of caring, trust, respect, responsibility and family, said Penny Keith, professional development coordinator for the organization.

When Community of Caring is implemented, a positive school culture is created resulting in better student-teacher relationships, student-peer relationships and a lessening of vandalism, fighting, and cheating, said Ann Higgins-D'Alessandro, who holds a doctorate in psychology and teaches at Fordham University in New York. She plans to publish research about Community of Caring and character-based education this winter.

At schools where the program exists, teachers become more "child centered," integrating value and moral building in the classroom, Higgins-D'Alessandro said.

Besides building empathy and positive social behavior, students are likely to be more motivated to learn, she said.

In March the school also saw 100 percent attendance for proficiency testing. "That's a huge achievement," said Lustig, noting many of the students at Burk have had truancy problems in the past.

Begaye, who has never felt safe at a school other than Burk, said the program's five core values allow students to respect each other even if they don't like each other. This family-like atmosphere makes him want to come to class.

"I never really went to school before," said Begaye. "Now, every morning when I wake, up I'm like, 'Hell yeah, I'm going to school today.' "

Home to many of the county's highest-risk youth, the school offers a day care center for teen parents; drug and alcohol counseling; a credit retrieval program that allows students from other schools to take classes to catch up; a program to help middle school students who are falling behind get on track to enter high school; and a comprehensive mentoring program. At any given time there are some 400 students at the school.

Every Thursday, 15 minutes before the school day is over, everybody stops what they are doing to talk about anything that's on their minds, from school violence to fashion. Teachers are given talking points to facilitate discussion. School maintenance workers, secretaries, even cafeteria staff try to join the conversation.

"I didn't even know the principal at my other school," said Burk graduate Jordan Mihajlovich, 18. "Now I'm in this guy's office every day. I've even played basketball with him. What principal do you know plays basketball?"

To meet the program's goal of incorporating family and community into the learning environment, students meet with Turner from the Palms weekly for group mentoring sessions. At times, he brings special guests, even celebrities, to help motivate the students.

Once, he brought a former methamphetamine addict who is now employed at the Palms to speak with students. "He came in there crying. He related to the students in a way Ron and I cannot," Turner said.

The casino provides incentives to kids who achieve.

The casino has also hired nearly a dozen students from the school, Turner said.

When adults create positive bonds with students, they are instilled with a sense of pride and degree of responsibility, said Lustig, who holds a doctorate in educational leadership and implemented the program at a suburban middle school in North Port, Fla. The creation of a caring atmosphere then snowballs and soon everyone is rooting for everyone else, he said.

Student Gilardi agrees. He said when he first came to the school he hated it. "I would go to class and sit there. Maybe I would do work like one day out of the week."

Gilardi now sees the school differently. He said the teachers understand him and the school's many programs allow him to excel.

"When you open up, it's better. Before, I didn't care if I dropped out or got kicked out. I didn't care if I finished. Now I want to graduate and get out of here with a diploma."