How to Support At-Promise Students: Written By AFormer At-Promise Student

Those of us who work with at-promise students know that they need extra love, care, support and guidance. Oftentimes, we may be the only caring adults in their lives and their only source of motivation to continue their education and go onto successful lives and careers after graduating. While conferences, training, and professional development can be great tools to develop strategies for working with and engaging at-promise students in their education, the only way we can really know what they need to feel supported is to ask them what they need. The article below was written by B. Isabel Velasquez, a 2017 graduate of YouthBuild Charter School of California, on her experience as an at-promise student and the work she is doing now to support current at-promise students. We hope Isabel’s story inspires you to keep up the work you are doing and also gives you ideas for how to better support opportunity youth.

My name is Isabel Velasquez, and this is my story of transformation from someone labeled “at-risk” to someone seen as “at-promise.” Although I was born in the United States, I was three months old when my mother decided to return to Mexico, where she raised me and where I went to school for most of my life. When I was sixteen, I received a phone call from a stranger who told me that my father was sick and could die, so I decided to move back to the U.S. to help my father recover and support my step brothers who were living here.

When I got to the United States, I entered the traditional school system, and even though I was doing alright in most of my classes and never got in trouble, I struggled with understanding English, and the ESL classes I was in did not help. My teachers noticed that I was falling behind, but they didn’t seem to care. They’d tell me to come in early for more tutoring, but that wasn’t helping. It was clear to me that they had too many students to worry about and they didn’t make any effort to reach out to find out the source of my struggles.

Then, when I was 18, I got married and became pregnant. My teachers and counselors did not really support me or offer any care or assistance, and I felt unsafe attending my school with a baby growing inside me. On top of that, I was experiencing domestic violence at home, and I felt I had no one to turn to at school. I eventually stopped attending school, and after I had my baby, I found myself in a lot of pain since I was living in a place where not only my life, but my baby’s life, was always in danger. My father was around, but he was absent and not someone I could turn to for support, and my mother was in a different country. I felt so isolated and alone. In the darkest moment of my life, I almost died by my abuser’s hands, and my body was found by police. After going to the doctor, I felt I had no one else to turn to. I was isolated and fighting against my bad thoughts. However, I did not want to let my child see me in depression, so I began to focus on giving myself time to recover physically and breaking the chain of trauma.

During my recovery, I eventually met a woman who became my friend and helped me care for my daughter. One day, she told me about a second chance school called YouthBuild [Charter School of California.] I looked into it and decided to enroll. YouthBuild became extremely meaningful for me because the teachers were like superheroes. They were the true meaning of revolution, love, and care. These words are not enough to describe how impactful they were to all of us students. They planted seeds of knowledge, culture, leadership, and change into each of us, watering us like plants with the consistency, compassion and love of a mother or father.

At YouthBuild, my peers and I found a family that many of us did not have at home. I finally learned English in my YouthBuild classroom. I learned communication skills, and my social interactions and the way I dressed and presented myself changed too. The teachers would take the time to explain anything we didn’t understand and were always so patient. They respected us and let us grow both emotionally and mentally, helping us transform into leaders. My teachers Mr. Scott and Mr. Steve unearthed in me talents that I always had but that I never paid attention to. They made an effort to discover talents in each and every student, and they would make sure we continued to develop those talents.

A revolution of love started in a classroom filled with humble teachers, counselors and staff who changed our lives forever. I gained confidence and learned that even small acts, as long as they were done consistently, could deeply change humans. They watered and took care of us like seedlings until we were ready to grow into trees that now bear fruits and seeds, passing down that same knowledge, love and care to everyone we meet. The snowball effect they had on my life and the lives of my fellow students will go on and on because that is what love, respect and care does– it is a true super power! My teachers encouraged me to apply to college– something I never thought I’d do– and they helped me understand all the complicated paperwork. I am proud to say that I graduated as my school’s valedictorian in 2017 with a GPA of 4.0. When I look around now at all the students I graduated high school with, I see them thriving. Many of them have gone on to graduate from college, start families, and/or start a good career path.