Author Topic: We are investigating "Young Men and Women for Change"  (Read 10237 times)

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Offline Oscar

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We are investigating "Young Men and Women for Change"
« on: September 17, 2011, 04:00:46 PM »
They run a kind of scared straight program.

Article: Boot Camp aims to scare children straight, by Jurry Taalib-Deen, The Toledo Journal, Originally posted 9/16/2011

Homepage: Here
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Offline 325troll

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Re: We are investigating "Young Men and Women for Change"
« Reply #1 on: September 17, 2011, 04:37:57 PM »
Quote from: "[b
none-ya[/b]"]This program has changed lives of many troubled teens.  They weren't abused but Oscar already knew that.  He is biased towards programs so he can "fit in" with survivors on this website.  lol
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Offline Ursus

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Re: We are investigating "Young Men and Women for Change"
« Reply #2 on: September 19, 2011, 12:50:57 AM »
Quote from: "Oscar"
They run a kind of scared straight program.
"Scared straight" programs are known to have pretty limited effectiveness in the long run. They may even prove to be counter productive for certain savvy or already cynical kids.
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Offline 325troll

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Re: We are investigating "Young Men and Women for Change"
« Reply #3 on: September 19, 2011, 03:36:45 AM »
Quote from: "Ursus"
Quote from: "Oscar"
They run a kind of scared straight program.
"Scared straight" programs are known to have pretty limited effectiveness in the long run. They may even prove to be counter productive for certain savvy or already cynical kids.

"cynical kids" describes every "survivor" on fornits.
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Offline Che Gookin

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Re: We are investigating "Young Men and Women for Change"
« Reply #4 on: September 30, 2011, 09:10:47 PM »
Quote from: "325troll"
Quote from: "Ursus"
Quote from: "Oscar"
They run a kind of scared straight program.
"Scared straight" programs are known to have pretty limited effectiveness in the long run. They may even prove to be counter productive for certain savvy or already cynical kids.

"cynical kids" describes every "survivor" on fornits.

Thank god for that, I'd hate to see this place being blindly accepting of just about everything that comes along.
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Offline Oscar

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Young Men and Women For Change
« Reply #5 on: December 16, 2011, 06:00:11 AM »
Here is a new I-want-to-save-the-world-project:

Young Men and Women For Change has changed lives
by Darryl Tucker, The Toledo Journal, Originally posted 12/16/2011

-+-+-
Shawn Mahone Sr., founder and executive director of Young Men and Women For Change, has dedicated his life to helping to change the lives of young people who’ve made bad choices.

Mr. Mahone, 43, organized the non profit group in 2006 for young men in a basement at Turning Over A New Leaf Church, pastored by Bishop Raymond Newton, to organize and give instructional training to young people to help them transform their lives.

“We have to change the dynamics for our kids through behavior and education,” Mr. Mahone said. “One thing I see that is very dangerous is the number of kids suspended from school.” Mr. Mahone said he is working with Toledo Public Schools to reduce the number of suspensions with the Leadership Toward Success program. He said he has worked with school officials to target students who are disruptive in class and change their behavior.

The mission of Young Men and Women For Change is to educate and empower young people to become productive, responsible and law-abiding citizens.

Mr. Mahone, a father of three children, said his vision of helping young people “came about with a vision God gave me,” said Mr. Mahone, who was living in Louisville, Ky., and working for a Fortune 500 company at the time.

A short time later, he moved back to Toledo. He said he placed an announcement in The Toledo Journal in 2006 “and the phones started ringing.” Parents of young women who heard about the program also contacted him and asked if he could help them. So, he added that component, he said.

His motivation for helping people also came from another chapter in his life.

“As an African American male I got tired of people telling me no in the workforce,:” Mr. Mahone said of his time in the corporate world. “Opportunities and promotions were not given to me because of the color of my skin.” He said he wanted to make a difference to show people that they have options.

He said he wanted to set an example that when people understand the purpose and and have passion for others they can make a difference.” Mr. Mahone said he makes home visits to youngsters in his program to check on their progress. He said his goal is to have a residential facility to house participants from 30 to 180 days and open a charter school called Change Academy.

He said he’s looking for someone to donate a building to house the school.

Mr. Mahone, a Toledo native, graduated from Rogers High School where he was class president his senior year. He obtained an associate degree in criminal justice from Owens Community College.

He has worked as a private police officer, starting his career at Mercy Hospital before working in corporate security for major corporations.

He also served as a drill instructor at a Kentucky Department of Corrections boot camp.

Mr. Mahone said 333 young people have gone through the Young Men and Women For Change program and all but 10 gave their lives to Christ.

One of the components of Young Men and Women For Change is the Behavior Modification B.O.O.T. C.A.M.P.

program for youngsters. It stands for Behavior, Obedience, Observational, Training, Community, Adolescent, Modification Program.

“Parents bring their kids from all over,” he said. Youths come from Akron, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Eaton, Ohio.

However, Mr. Mahone said he’s surprised by the low turnout for the boot camps.

He said he believes the low numbers are due to parents not committed or knowing about the program to the juvenile justice system not referring youths. “They have to have a desire and truly want to see youth get help,” he said.

“They won’t graduate from high school and they could end up dead or jailed.” Mr. Mahone said he will not hire just anyone off the streets to work with the kids.

Staff members and volunteers demonstrate the highest standards of professionalism and serve as role models for all young people, Mr. Mahone said.

All staff members go through an extensive background check and have met all educational requirements for the program, he said.

“We are looking for the right people with the right attitude who are not stuck on titles or self, but willing to roll up their sleeves and help fight this battle when it comes to our youth,” Mr Mahone said.

In March, Mr. Mahone hit the air waves appearing on the national Michael Baisden Show discussing how to help troubled teens. “We were flooded with calls and emails across the country,” Mr. Mahone said.

The group’s goals are: To reduce the number of youth who get involved in the juvenile justice system; reduce the drop out rate in schools; help young people recognize and improve their unacceptable behavior; deliver a comprehensive curriculum, provide tools to challenge and motivate them to strive to do their personal best; and facilitate positive forms of interaction between program participants and staff to develop a strong base of support and trust.

“We knew something had to be done after reviewing statistics of young people going through the court system, listening to the daily news and witnessing the behavior within the community,” he said.

When young people enter the program, they will receive extensive case management to determine their personal needs.

Every participant will work to develop themselves in educational, emotional, mental physical, spiritual and social character growth and development.

Each person will receive a curriculum workbook, which they are responsible for completing.

The curriculum includes: Improving overall physical, social and academic performance; anger management; character building/value clarification; social and life skills; goal setting; leadership development; and community involvement and awareness.

These areas are vital in the participants reaching success, Mr. Mahone said. All participants must obey the program’s rules.

Mr. Mahone is seeking donors so he can continue to provide a program. He said he has spent $70,000 of his own money to help change the lives of young people.
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Offline cmack

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Re: We are investigating "Young Men and Women for Change"
« Reply #6 on: December 16, 2011, 12:12:01 PM »
The video on their homepage almost seems like a parody from the Onion or something. They seem to employ about every failed "Tough Love" technique from the last 40 years. One picture on their facebook page shows a 5 year old being berated by some big hulking adult. After terrorizing the kids with verbal and physical abuse the loud-mouthed leader then turns the event into some kind of evangelical revival meeting and leads the kids in a prayer to accept Jesus as their Savior. Kinda like salvation through fear and intimidation. I'm sure Jesus would approve.

It doesn't seem to matter how much research is done proving that such 'tough love' tactics don't work. American parents, educators, and officials still flock to these kinds of programs. I think the adults take a certain type of perverse pleasure in watching the kids being abused and terrorized.

http://www.youngmenandwomenforchange.com/
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Offline Ursus

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Re: We are investigating "Young Men and Women for Change"
« Reply #7 on: December 18, 2011, 12:15:58 AM »
"All participants MUST obey"

From their History page:

-------------- • -------------- • --------------

YMWFC Profile

Young Men and Women For Change was founded in 2006 by Shawn Mahone, Sr. for the purpose of providing organized and instructional training for young people to help them transform their lives.

Mr. Mahone recognized that hundreds of bright youth both males and females were not reaching their full potential because of unhealthy choices and lack of direction, support and discipline. He knew something needed to be done after reviewing the statistics of young people going through the court system, listening to the daily news and witnessing the behavior within the community.

 All staff members have passed an extensive background check and have met all the educational requirements for a program of this caliber. Staff members and volunteers demonstrate the highest standards of professionalism and serves as a role model for all the young people. The YMWFC Board of Directors and staff is mission driven, compassionate and determine to guide these young people successfully toward their educational, personal and social goals.

These areas are vital in the successful progress of the participants!!

All participants MUST obey the YMWFC program rules.

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Offline Ursus

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Concern for tomorrow's adults motivates leaders of boot camp
« Reply #8 on: December 20, 2011, 12:52:58 AM »
Here's some earlier coverage. No date was noted for the first few articles, although their order and relative vintage can be somewhat determined by the archived article number.

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Concern for tomorrow's adults motivates leaders of boot camp
The Toledo Journal


Shawn Mahone Sr. (second from left) poses with three of his boot camp volunteers, Allen Justice, Beverly Brown and Philip Johnson.

Not as many kids as anticipated, based on the turnout and interest shown at a parent orientation session two weeks earlier, showed up.

That told Shawn Mahone Sr. one thing: The kids who needed to be there are running the household.

"You can't let your child dictate what goes on," Mr. Mahone said. "If you tell your child that he or she is going to boot camp, that's where they're going.

"But guess what, some parents didn't bring them back."

Mr. Mahone, 39, and volunteers on Saturday, March 22, opened their "boot camp" at the Life Holt Center on Elm Street. Officially known as Young Men For Change, it also enrolls girls in a program that instills respect for self by learning how to respect others.

But despite the official name, and its motto of "Helping Young Boys Become Young Men," Mr. Mahone prefers that the program be referred to simply as "boot camp."

He and his volunteers, all who have passed background checks, will not put their hands on a child. But they will strongly teach and reinforce discipline, responsibility and respect, and they will oversee physical exercises such as pushups and jumping jacks.

"So there is some boot camp as far as breaking down the individual in order to build them back up," Mr. Mahone said.

Allen Justice, 40, one of the volunteers, said an initial lesson is teaching the young people to say "yes, ma'am" and "yes, sir."

"That doesn't mean that you're weak or you're soft," he said. "It's just a sound of respect, that you respect your elders as well as yourself."

Beverly Brown, 50, is one of two volunteers with military experience. A former major in the U.S. Army and now a worker at the Jeep plant, she's in the program for the girls, she said.

"Society has always geared toward the boys, and the girls have so much more trouble than what is perceived," Ms. Brown said. "Females have it harder than males, in my eyes."

Philip Johnson, 48, like the other volunteers, is not being paid for his work with wayward youth. He and the others don't mind.

"We'll be rewarded in the long run," said the former U.S. Marine "By the grace of God. He'll supply all of that need.

"I look at [young people] as I look at myself," Mr. Johnson added. "They need a good role model."

Although fewer turned out than hoped for, many parents did bring their children to the opening of boot camp. One parent arrived without her child, a 12-year-old boy. But he had been through the program a couple of months ago in sort of a trial run of Young Men For Change.

Eboni Saunders said her son had begun acting up in school and that his grades were plummeting. But today he is an elected member of the student council at his middle school and his grades have risen so high that "it's like tear-jerking."

"Now when I get his grade card I'm like, oh, literally holding my heart, like 'Oh my God,' " a smiling Ms. Saunders said.

"Teachers were constantly calling me, saying that he was being disrespectful. He had a real issue with authority figures," she said. "So that's why when I saw the [announcement] in The Journal, I called.

"He really got a lot of valuable things here, things that I had myself been trying to do, but it's when he had his contact with Mr. Mahone that he just evolved."

Mr. Mahone's boot camp teaches anger management, how to handle peer pressure, and even housekeeping skills such as making a bed, folding clothes and washing dishes.

"Any and everything we teach them is going to help them in their life," the program leader said.

Personal grooming and appearance also are part of the boot camp curriculum.

"We're going to teach them how to tie ties, how to polish shoes, and not to be wearing the saggy pants," Mr. Mahone said. "They're going to be wearing a belt."

Mr. Mahone has three children himself, girls ages 21 and 19 and a 4-year-old boy. A manager at a local office supply store, he could concentrate on his own parental duties and let other adults try to handle their own children.

"Someone needs to take the initiative, to step up in Toledo to really help our young men and our young ladies, to really push them and gear them to be successful, to be productive," he answered. "This was a vision that was given to me by God. Out of obedience, I'm doing this to help our kids in this community."

Mr. Mahone is paying out-of-pocket for much of the program's cost. He does charge parents a one-time fee to help pay for such things as boot camp T-shirts and field trips, but said Young Men For Change would appreciate outside support in the way of individual or business donations.

Looking ahead, he said he'd like to see the boot camp owning its own facility, able to house children, and enrolling young people from outside Lucas County. He'd like to partner with Toledo government on such discipline-instilling projects as graffiti and litter cleanup.

Mr. Mahone was disappointed but not surprised that more parents didn't, as they earlier promised to do, bring their children to the opening of boot camp.

"What you're finding out is the child wants to dictate what goes on in the home," he said. "The parents are no longer dictating what the child needs to do."

But those parents have an open invitation to assert themselves and enroll their children, he said. Ms. Saunders said she is thankful she asserted herself the first time Mr. Mahone offered Young Men For Change.

Her son initially resented being forced to participate, but began to appreciate that his mother cared enough to enroll him.

"I asked him the other day, 'How do you think the boot camp helped you?' " Ms. Saunders said. "And he said, 'It taught me how to recognize my own negative behavior and to recognize it when I see it in other people and to steer clear of them.'

"And I was shocked. He's 12 years old," the mother added. "To hear him say that to me, it told me it was a good thing that I did take him to boot camp. It really paid off."

Those interested in enrolling in the Young Men For Change boot camp or financially supporting it may call 567-277-5352 or send mail to 2467 1-2 Nebraska Ave., Toledo, OH 43607.


Copyright 2011
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Offline Pile of Dead Kids

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Re: Concern for tomorrow's adults motivates leaders of boot
« Reply #9 on: December 20, 2011, 05:35:41 PM »
Quote from: "Ursus"
''I asked him the other day, 'How do you think the boot camp helped you?' '' Ms. Saunders said. ''And he said, 'It taught me how to recognize my own negative behavior and to recognize it when I see it in other people and to steer clear of them.'

''And I was shocked. He's 12 years old,'' the mother added. ''To hear him say that to me, it told me it was a good thing that I did take him to boot camp. It really paid off.''

You stupid fucking cunt, it wasn't supremely obvious that he was just saying this by rote? That not only did he not mean a word of it, he doesn't even know what those words mean?
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »
...Sergey Blashchishen, James Shirey, Faith Finley, Katherine Rice, Ashlie Bunch, Brendan Blum, Caleb Jensen, Alex Cullinane, Rocco Magliozzi, Elisa Santry, Dillon Peak, Natalynndria Slim, Lenny Ortega, Angellika Arndt, Joey Aletriz, Martin Anderson, James White, Christening Garcia, Kasey Warner, Shirley Arciszewski, Linda Harris, Travis Parker, Omega Leach, Denis Maltez, Kevin Christie, Karlye Newman, Richard DeMaar, Alexis Richie, Shanice Nibbs, Levi Snyder, Natasha Newman, Gracie James, Michael Owens, Carlton Thomas, Taylor Mangham, Carnez Boone, Benjamin Lolley, Jessica Bradford's unnamed baby, Anthony Parker, Dysheka Streeter, Corey Foster, Joseph Winters, Bruce Staeger, Kenneth Barkley, Khalil Todd, Alec Lansing, Cristian Cuellar-Gonzales, Janaia Barnhart, a DRA victim who never even showed up in the news, and yet another unnamed girl at Summit School...

Offline Ursus

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Re: Concern for tomorrow's adults motivates leaders of...
« Reply #10 on: December 20, 2011, 08:03:46 PM »
From the above article, emphasis added:

    "Someone needs to take the initiative, to step up in Toledo to really help our young men and our young ladies, to really push them and gear them to be successful, to be productive,"
[Shawn Mahone Sr.] answered. "This was a vision that was given to me by God. Out of obedience, I'm doing this to help our kids in this community."[/list][/size]
Mm. And just how does he know that it's God who is speaking to him?

How many millions of people have been brutally tortured and killed over the centuries ... for reasons of this ilk?
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Offline Ursus

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Mahone, team members making a difference at Dunbar Aca
« Reply #11 on: December 20, 2011, 11:36:04 PM »
Next article. Again, no date...

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The Toledo Journal
Mahone, team members making a difference at Dunbar Academy
by Journal Staff
The Toledo Journal


From left, instructional coach Melissa Lipscomb, Shawn Mahone Sr., teacher Latanya Morgan, and School Leader Andre Fox.

It's no coincidence, school officials say, that in the month and a half since Shawn Mahone Sr. and his team arrived, Paul Dunbar Academy has had only one student suspension.

Mr. Mahone, the founder of the Young Men & Women For Change boot camp, has on a volunteer basis introduced a behavior modification program at the Leona Group elementary school in North Toledo.

The impact has been immediate and positive, said Melissa Lipscomb, the school's instructional coach.

"When they go to Mr. Shawn's room – which is what we're calling it right now – they're not just sitting there doing nothing or having a time-out," she said. "They're actually doing work. They know when they go there ... they're going there to figure out what they need to do to be successful in the classroom."

Mr. Mahone said that when he and his trained volunteers first arrived at the K-8 school, they were seeing "20-plus" students a day. Now they average about nine a day, he said.

"It signifies the fact that the behavior/discipline modification program works," he said, adding that the program involves only positive reinforcement. "What we want to do is create an environment where kids can actually come to school and get an education, but also understand that for the mistakes that you make, you're going to be held accountable for your actions."

Introduction of the program resulted from a chance meeting of Mr. Mahone, who coaches a youth basketball team, and School Leader Andre Fox, who at the time was putting together a school basketball team. They talked and exchanged business cards. "I said, 'Well, I'm going to give you a call,' " Mr. Fox said.

He's glad he did. And he concurs with Ms. Lipscomb on the positive impact. Student behavior has improved remarkably. And there hasn't been a suspension since before Christmas.

Mr. Fox isn't a fan of suspensions, anyway, a main reason he decided to invite Mr. Mahone to Dunbar to "show us what he can do." A suspension can be beneficial only if it carries consequences in the student's home, the school leader said. Otherwise, it's to no one's benefit.

"When they do have to spend three days at home, they accomplish absolutely nothing. And they do what they want to do, for the most part," Mr. Fox said. "When you suspend a child and then have to suspend him again for the same behavior, then you know that suspension does not help."

Students have sessions with Mr. Mahone or his assistants if they are being a "persistent problem" in class and disrupting a teacher's attempts to teach. They'll do their classroom assignment and also talk with the adult volunteers.

"They help [the students] discover what their behavior was," Ms. Lipscomb said. "They may be out of the classroom for an hour, but that's better than a whole day."

"We don't want to punish them," Mr. Mahone said. "We want a relationship with these kids to help them understand ... that they can talk to us and we can make things better for them.

"These kids need to understand, especially when there's not a father in the home, that I'm only trying to strip away the negative input that's been put into them," he added. "I'm letting them know, 'I'm not here to hurt you, I'm here to help you.' And the kids are starting to see that."

Not that the behavioral modification program has been a complete instant success. Some students, for whatever reasons, continue to challenge authority and refuse to recognize what's best for them.

"We have that going on right now," Mr. Mahone said. "We have kids that just refuse to cooperate but we have to continue trying to motivate them, keep encouraging them. One of the famous quotes I always use it, 'You do what you need to do in order to do what you want to do.' "

Mr. Mahone and his team members also walk the halls at Dunbar Academy and will visit classrooms, sometimes just to say hello to the students and teachers, and sometimes to make sure shirts are tucked in and that students are raising their hands and waiting to be acknowledged before speaking to a teacher.

The teachers don't consider the visits an intrusion or feel that somehow Mr. Mahone and his team are taking away some of their authority, said Latanya Morgan, a kindergarten teacher.

"I welcome them to come in anytime to my classroom," she said. "You always welcome additional support. The kids need to get to know it's just not you [a teacher]. They need to know people beyond you, that there are other people who actually care about their future and where they’re going.

"The more positive adults that you can get to interact with these children, the better off they are of actually being successful later on in life."

Mr. Mahone said he's at Dunbar as much for the teachers as for its 169 students.

"My ultimate job is to make the teacher's job easier," he said. "I feel like it's not the teacher's job to deal with behaviors or discipline issues in class. They come to school to teach."

As counterintuitive as it might sound, Ms. Morgan said some misbehaving children, at least in her classroom, appreciate being seen by Mr. Mahone or other behavior modification volunteers.

"If there's one having a behavior issue that day, they'll pull him aside and talk to him," she said."'They love the attention. And if the attention is for them to get on the right track, to do the right thing, I'm all for it."

Mr. Mahone started Young Men & Women For Change in January 2006 and he claims a 99 percent success rate with the 4- to 18-year-olds he and his associates have worked with. He currently has over 100 kids and teens enrolled, each attending classes for two hours every Saturday over a three-month period.

He still refers to it as a boot camp, although no adult places a hand on a youth and no negative or harsh comments are directed at the children. He said he still gets some negative reaction to his use of the term.

"But the bottom line is it's a program that Toledo desperately needs," said Mr. Mahone, who has a degree in criminal justice.

His goals for the program include acquiring a residential facility for long-term housing of problem young people and branching out into consulting in discipline and behavior modification, not only in Toledo but across the nation. He said he welcomes donations of any type, from money to office furniture, to strengthen Young Men & Women For Change.

Mr. Fox, meanwhile, wants to keep Mr. Mahone's program in his school and said it would be "a good idea" if Leona Group implemented it at its other Toledo schools. He believes the education company will do that.

"That's how Leona is," he said. "If something works, they'll catch onto it and spread it."

-------------------
Those wishing to contact Mr. Mahone, whether about his behavior modification programs, about a child who is causing problems at home, or whether to make a donation, can do so by calling 567-277-5352 or sending e-mail to ymwfc@yahoo.com.


Copyright 2011
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Offline cmack

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Charter School Scandal
« Reply #12 on: December 20, 2011, 11:54:35 PM »
Info. regarding Dunbar Academy in the above post. posting.php?mode=reply&f=9&t=37854#pr409916

http://charterschoolscandals.blogspot.c ... ademy.html

Thursday, February 17, 2011
Paul Laurence Dunbar Academy / Northpointe Academy

FOR-PROFIT MANAGEMENT COMPANY SKIRTS OHIO’S CHARTER SCHOOL CLOSURE LAW: DOCUMENTS SHOW CLOSED TOLEDO SCHOOL RE-OPENED WITH NEW NAME, SAME STAFF; February 15, 2011; Policy Matters Ohio press release

    The Leona Group, a Phoenix-based for-profit charter school management company, has evaded Ohio law by opening a new school to replace a school closed by the state at the end of the 2009-10 school year for poor academic performance.

    Paul Laurence Dunbar Academy, a K-8 school located at 3248 Warsaw St. in Toledo and operated by the Leona Group, appeared on the state’s closure list and was required to close by June 2010. But by July 2, 2010, the Leona Group had taken steps to open a new school, Northpointe Academy, at the same address with the same phone number and much of the same staff. Leona operates nine schools in Ohio, according to its web site. (http://www.leonagroup.com)

    “Until Ohio overhauls charter school law and creates an effective oversight system, this kind of abuse will not be resolved,” said Piet van Lier, Policy Matters researcher. A September Policy Matters report, available at http://www.policymattersohio.org/AuthorizedAbuse, documented other evidence that charter management companies in Ohio are operating with little oversight.

    “At their best, charter schools can provide options for students seeking a good education and serve as a proving ground for innovative education models,” said van Lier. “This example, of weak oversight and inappropriate behavior by a for-profit management firm, shows how some charters fail miserably to meet that standard.”

    Accompanying this press release are two PDF files containing staff lists for Dunbar and Northpointe, both downloaded from the Leona Group web site. The Dunbar staff list was downloaded in July 2010; the Northpointe list was downloaded in February 2011.

    These staff lists show that Andre Fox served as Dunbar principal and continues to serve in that capacity at Northpointe, according to the staff lists; all but four of the teaching staff listed for Northpointe also appeared on the Dunbar list from last year.

    As of February 1, 2011, Northpointe Academy enrolled more than 270 students and had collected more than $2 million in state money for the 2010-11 school year, according to state records. The Toledo-based Ohio Council of Community Schools was Dunbar’s sponsor and serves as Northpointe’s sponsor as well. In Ohio, charter school sponsors are responsible for authorizing new schools and monitoring them once they are open.

    Beginning in 2008, Ohio law required charter schools to meet certain academic standards on their state report cards or face closure. While this law was a positive step toward improving accountability for Ohio’s charter schools, the case of Dunbar/Northpointe shows that oversight of these publicly funded, privately operated schools remains inadequate.


    Staff list for Paul Laurence Dunbar Academy http://www.policymattersohio.org/pdf/Du ... ffList.pdf

    Staff list for Northpointe Academy http://www.policymattersohio.org/pdf/No ... ffList.pdf
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Offline Ursus

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Paul Laurence Dunbar Academy -> Northpointe Academy
« Reply #13 on: December 21, 2011, 11:54:27 AM »
Quote
Paul Laurence Dunbar Academy / Northpointe Academy

FOR-PROFIT MANAGEMENT COMPANY SKIRTS OHIO’S CHARTER SCHOOL CLOSURE LAW: DOCUMENTS SHOW CLOSED TOLEDO SCHOOL RE-OPENED WITH NEW NAME, SAME STAFF; February 15, 2011; Policy Matters Ohio press release
Excellent find, cmack!
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »
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Offline Ursus

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'Change' agent leads walk to downtown
« Reply #14 on: December 21, 2011, 11:49:51 PM »
Again, no date for this article, although I'd venture it was originally published earlier this year...

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The Toledo Journal
'Change' agent leads walk to downtown
by The Toledo Journal


Shawn Mahone, along with more than 80 children and adults, some carrying signs for Young Men and Women For Change, get set for their walk to downtown Toledo.

After shouting out "double-time, double-time!'" to his young charges, Shawn Mahone Sr. wasn't pleased with their speed in lining up or how they were not in standard formation.

As parents and others watched, he ordered the kids to drop and give him 10. They dropped to the floor of the gymnasium and proceeded to do 10 push-ups.

"One, sir! Two, sir! Three, sir! ..." the 22 young people called out.

Mr. Mahone, director of Young Men and Women For Change (YMWFC), was getting ready to lead the children, their parents and supporters of the discipline program he founded in 2006 on a five-mile "Walk for Youth" fundraiser.

He had program participants gather at the Friendly Center on North Superior Street, then had them walk a route to a specific location in downtown Toledo: the Juvenile Justice Center, where young offenders are locked up.

"To let our youth know that this is a place that they do not want to come to," Mr. Mahone explained."'My job is to help deter some of our youth from reaching downtown.

"And if I can get my kids to understand what it feels like to walk up to that place," he added, "it'll give them a sense of reality, to know that that's a place where they don't want to be."

YMWFC's mission is to help young people become leaders – productive, responsible and law-abiding individuals. Helping keep young people out of the criminal justice system, to encourage them to embrace the importance of education, and to get them to recognize self-defeating behavior are among the organization's goals.

"Our program is desperately needed in the city of Toledo and surrounding areas," he said. "I want this community to understand that we are an organization that cares about our youth."

Pam Auger was among the parents walking with their children. She and her husband several years ago adopted two boys, brothers, who are now ages 7 and 8. Both felt the effects of fetal-alcohol syndrome, she said, and it resulted in "somewhat of an explosive personality" in both of the boys.

"When I saw those little tendencies, I kind of wanted to cut it off at the pass," said Ms. Auger, who added that friends recommended signing up with YMWFC.

The program is 12 weeks long for each youth, and parents are required to participate for at least two weeks. Ms. Auger's sons were in the fifth week of the program when last week's walk was held.

She's noticed a difference in her kids, she said.

"They think before they speak," she said. "They think about what they're doing now rather than having that instant reaction to something."

She said her sons will take turns pretending to be "Mr. Shawn" at home, and will discipline each other when need be. "They'll do camp with each other," Ms. Auger said.

"Camp" is boot camp, the term Mr. Mahone gave his program as a secondary name, initially only for boys. Local government officials, from whom he sought support, did not like the connotation of "boot camp," he said. He said he responded by noting that America's soldiers fighting overseas all went through boot camp, were disciplined, well-trained and were fighting for freedom.

Neither Mr. Mahone nor any of his YMWFC assistants lay a hand on children. He's told officials that "boot" stands for "Behavior Obedience Observational Training."

"We're just firm, fair and consistent with our kids," he said as parents and children gathered at the Friendly Center for the start of the fundraiser walk.

Ms. Auger called YMWFC "an excellent program" and said the positive changes in her sons are being illustrated at home.

"They think about 'what would Mr. Shawn want me to do?' " she said about their behavior and respect for authority and what is right.

Margaret Lawless was another parent participating in the walk, along with her 13-year-old son now enrolled in YMWFC. She and her husband realized that their son "needed some direction" but that their own efforts alone weren't working.

"I thought it was the right thing," said Ms. Lawless, adding that she was referred to the program from a juvenile court worker. "I think [her son] knows that that he was headed in the wrong direction."

Mr. Mahone said he is on duty "24 hours a day, seven days a week." He will make school visits on behalf of his program's youth, make visits to their homes or take their calls any time of the day, he said.

Ms. Lawless vouched for that. Her son has placed calls to the YMWFC director at least twice, she said, and once Mr. Mahone made a house visit to address a distressing circumstance, she said.

"He's just real positive," she said about Mr. Mahone, a Toledo native who once worked as a drill instructor for the Kentucky Department of Corrections. "And he acts positive. He kind of reinforces that 'I'm not going to get you out of anything. I'm going to try to steer you into the right direction.' "

Mr. Mahone demonstrated that last week when he ordered the kids to do push-ups, then line up correctly.

"Sir, yes sir!" the youngsters responded.

Mr. Mahone said well over 100 youth have been enrolled in YMWFC since its start, and that it has had an 80 percent success rate based on observed, long-term behavior of the boys and girls who have graduated from the program.

Among his prize graduates is a student at St. John's Jesuit High School, who earned entry through academic excellence. Mr. Mahone said school officials asked him how he was able to turn his academic performance around, based on his earlier scores.

"He said, 'Because my mom put me through the [YMWFC] program,' " Mr. Mahone said.

The program director, who earned a degree in 1990 from Owens Community College and who said he managed to stay straight and true growing up in Toledo's central city by focusing on positive activities, said he wants all of the children in YMWFC to become "productive leaders for tomorrow's future and tomorrow's success."

His "boot camp," even though some might reject the term, will continue to reinforce the importance of self-discipline, integrity and good character, he said. If it means having children obey orders from adults, so be it, he said. It's for their own good in the long run, he said.

"I break them down in order to build them back up," Mr. Mahone said. "I'm stripping off everything that is negative and beginning to put positive reinforcement back in their life."

The 22 kids now enrolled in YMWFC, even if slow in lining up at the Friendly Center, and their parents and supporters were evidence that Mr. Mahone's program is having a positive effect in Toledo.

The group planned to walk to the Juvenile Justice Center and back, a distance somewhat short of five miles. Mr. Mahone, a father whose daughter has juvenile diabetes, said he planned to continue walking alone, first to Sylvania by taking Monroe Street. He planned to get a ride to Holland-Sylvania Road, then continue his trek to Maumee, then Perrysburg, then Rossford, and then back to Toledo. His walk was an awareness mission, he said.

"And I'm going to walk it if it takes all day and night," Mr. Mahone said before the walkers started off from the Friendly Center. "Why? Because I am tired of our kids falling to the wayside. It's time for somebody to step up. Who's going to follow my lead?"


Copyright 2011
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »
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