CHILD
CH
City lights school: A
last chance beacon of
hope for troubled youth
They id it uldn't don
They id you couldn't put t
tou h t, hard t to reach problem
tudents into bool and turn
them in edu ted, employable
young dul .
Dr. Bert L'Homm . h ppy to
pro them wrong. As th Execu­
tive Director of City Light School
in W hington, D.C., Dr. L'­
Homme and his dedica d staff of
25 prove very d y th t the right
combination 0 love, nurturing,
d' ciplin and commin d ring
c n tum dead-end youth into
productive citizens.
City Lights School erves the
Di trict of Columbia youth hat
the educational y tern can't
reach, the judicial ystem can't
reform and the mental health ys­
tern can't cure.
Founded under that auspices of
tbe Children's Defense Fund in
1982, this wonderfully innovative
program has helped over 850
"hard-core" dropouts, "juvenile
delinquents, teen parent and
emotionally di turbed youths tum
their lives around.
TODAY, ITY I HTS
School has 87 tudents, mostly
. African American, ranging in age
from '12 to 22. Dr. L'Hornme
describes a typical student as "a
disadvantaged 16-year-old who
has at least one charge of delin­
�\lCncy .. reads, Lt� third grade
level and suffers om erto
emotional problems.
Many of the tudents already
have long careers as hardcore
truants, and most have been either
phy ically or exually abused."
About one-third of the tudents
are young women, most of whom
are either pregnant or have a child
when they enroll at City Lights.
These are the young people be­
hind the statisti and tories we
ee and hear on the news each day.
They have dozens of trikes
against them and they come to
City lights School knowing it's
their last chance.
What they get at City Lights
School is a unique blend of coun­
eling, self-esteem building, fami-
, ly values and career preparation.
The school' programs are
de igned to enable students to find
employment and live inde­
pendently.
A computer-based curriculum
allow students to learn at their
own pace. A comprehensive
range of clinical ervice - in­
cluding individual therapy, crisis
intervention and family counsel­
i ng - help the youth develop
coping skills.
A EXTEN IVE substance
abuse prevention program
provides positive alternatives to
the drug culture that beckons from
the streets. Career counseling,
pre-vocational training, inde­
pendent living classe and job
placement services help tudents
move from chool to the
workplace.
Perhap most importantly, City
Lights stresse the rebuilding of
values that have traditionally
strengthened the Black com­
munity: hard work, re pect for,
elders and the belief that we can
overcome adversity to a hieve.
The even principle fKwan­
zaa - unity, hard work, deter­
mination, creativity, co perative
economics, faith and collective
work and resp nsibility - are
emphasized and demon trated
daily. Best of all, City Lights has
"grandparents" in every class­
room and throughout th staff.
Through the Foster
Grandparent and Retired Seniors
See Watch A10
DU I G TH
10 L
meeting they help determine the
goal and guide the direction of thi
national reading initiative.
The mis ion of RU NI G
START i to give tho ands of first
graders ac the country "running
tart" in reading, to help ensure th ir
future as readers for the 21 t cen­
tury.
The program challenge first
graders in .and around citie where
HP coach
HI HLAND P MI- Highland
Park Community High S hool var­
sity basketball coach Darrell Purisful
i among for Michigan prep ure
who will enter the Basketball
Coache As ociation of Michigan
(BCAM) Hall of Fame thi month.
Purisful, who reached the 400-
victory milestone last ea on, hi
23rd as head coach will J>e inducted
a t AM 1 . htlnq\lC!t
Saturday, October 31, at 7 p.m. The
site i the Holiday Inn-South Con­
ference Center, 6820 S. Cedar St.,
near 1-96, in Lan ing.
The ceremony also honor
coache Larry Glas , of Leland High;
John Maciak, Flint Holy Ro ary; and
Jerry Schaffer, Three Oak River
Valley.
Puri ful;who began his Highland
Park varsity career in 1969-70, ha
coached six first-team All-Staters.
He guided the Parkers to a state CIa
HIGHLAND PARK
-rn tivating children to read m r
nd enjoy reading,
- upporting teach rs' ffort t
help cruldren become read rs,
-involving parent in th ir
chi ldren' reading,
BOOKS ARE WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT - Local coordinators take time out from a full schedule a
at this year's National Conference of Running Start Coordinators. Pictured here are repre ente
Detroit and Highland Park schools including (from left to right, front row) Joyce Crrysler (P rker)
Hughes (Greenfield), Dale Thomas (Herman) and Sandra Thompson ( igh.land Park School Die
second row (left to right) shows Shirley Bitting (Glazer), Krystal Patrick from Reading Fundament.
Headquarter and Pat Scott (George Ford).
people in a fir t grader' life­
parents, t achers nd other kids­
and gi ve all of them a golden
opportunity to celebrate th joy and
excitement of reading."
elf-e teem
ens of th m-
-in r :. in
th irnportan
pu Ii awarene
f reading.
Accordin to RIF Pre ident Ruth
Grave, "RUNNING START i get­
ting our young people to read more
f and giving th in a boo t in reading at
a critical tage in their education.
What's more, it involve all the key
nt
r
all Of
ame
Get relief the natu al way.
Food supplements now available to shrink thi
. nagging problem.
Physician tested, immediate relief­
Nutralight Products.
Call 874-2101 for further information.
Oarrell Purisful
A championship in 1975, runnerup
honors in 1980, and semifinals in
1978 and 1984. the Kentucky native
a� n med tale Coach 0 the Year
for 1981-X ... when he guided hi o.
I-ranked team to a 24-1 record.
Puri: ful' 2:'-year record i. 407-123,
.7( .
HP Schools to celebrate
Malcolm X Week
ort t infu e
Afr i an and African-American
tudie im all area of the cur­
ri .ul urn. This is the fi t pha e of
rnul ticultural cdu ati n, inc rp rat­
in the C( ntribuu n' fall rrrcrican
ethnic group nal
pr gram.
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