STUDENT SUCCESS STORIES

Adam Thompson
Adam exemplifies a person's ability to overcome challenges and has thrived in his growth as a student at COMPASS. As one of our few STEP 5 students (the highest honor at COMPASS), Adam has become a student leader, mastered the Culinary Arts Classroom, and participated in a job placement, as well as being an active member within his community through basketball, community service, and youth groups.

Adam's experiences have taken him to Washington DC, Philadelphia, and New York, not to mention South Africa with his Youth Group. Adam graduated from our Jamaica Plain school in 2009, and strives to go to college to continue his growth as a student.

Adilson Gomes Centeio
Adilson Gomes Centeio came to the Holden School in May, 2003, as a troubled young man who spoke only Cape Verdean Creole and a little Portuguese. Due to misunderstood behaviors and a misdiagnosed illness, he spent nearly two years in a hospital for mentally ill patients. Adilson left the hospital in the care of the Department of Mental Health (DMH), without friends or family, and moved to a shelter for homeless adults with mental health challenges. He was isolated and alone, unable to speak English, and a stranger to phones and the T.

In June 2006, Adilson proudly graduated with a full-time job lined up, and he continues to study English as a Second Language. He was very excited about completing the final steps for his US citizenship on June 20.

Adilson had many challenges to overcome, and we were able to bring together the support he needed. Through an agreement with the Boston School Department, Maria Mendes, a translator and advocate, accompanied Adilson through the school day. With her help we were able to obtain the proper assessments and support that Adilson needed from the School Department and DMH. Adilson also worked to improve his language and social skills. To help him prepare for citizenship, school staff individualized his classes, putting special emphasis on key aspects of American culture.

Adilson's story illustrates the need for "wrap around" services that take a comprehensive view of students' needs and deliver positive learning opportunities well beyond the classroom.

Adilson stresses that learning English and socializing with other kids made him feel good so he could continue learning and move forward in life. He also says he learned a lot by working after school with Alberto Rivera and George Hughes - Holden's property department. Being treated with respect was a "most positive" part of his Holden experience. He only wishes he had learned more about basketball.

Adilson hopes to study at Bunker Hill Community College upon completion of his ESL work. He will be applying to Holden's Scholarship Committee for tuition help.

Your support of the COMPASS helps us improve the lives of students such as Adilson. We are proud of him and all the students who work toward graduation and more productive lives. As this story demonstrates, the challenges can go well beyond basic education but the rewards make the effort worthwhile.

Anastashia "Staya" Daily
Anastasia has been a longtime COMPASS student, first attending our Jamaica Plain school, and then the Holden School. Like most of our students Staya comes from a troubled background. But now upon graduation she looks forward to a bright future, thanks to her own hard work and perseverance and our staff's insistence that everyone can overcome their circumstances, along with our wrap-around services philosophy.

Her recent accomplishments include being awarded the John P.Santry Sportsmanship Award in June of 2008 for her skill and leadership on the basketball court. In June of 2009 she was awarded the Dr. Tom Frank Personal Growth award for her improvement in maturity and focus.

Staya has been awarded a full residential scholarship to study automotive mechanics at Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology.

Ascer
"They care so much they saw past what I saw. They saw my potential even when I didn't. They're good at helping kids build a strong foundation for themselves."

Ascer was at the COMPASS School in October, 1995 when he learned of his brother's death, the result of a violent encounter in Mattapan. This incident and the circumstances under which Ascer learned of his brothers death, reading of it in The Boston Herald, put all our theories about violence prevention to the test.

At COMPASS he focused on a newfound exceptional talent: art. Throughout the year, COMPASS staff worked with him, individually, as a team, and in the classroom, providing him opportunities to vent, to create, and to pursue what had once seemed a far-fetched dream - a college education. Some seven months after his brother's death, Ascer himself was on the front page of the Herald, pictured next to this headline: "Through fear and tears he rises up"

In the article, Peter Gelzinis, the Herald reporter, recounted the story that had shaken and inspired staff and students alike. He wrote: "That he is neither dead nor incarcerated is a testament to the sheer force of his smoldering determination and the heroic contributions from the staff of the COMPASS School in Jamaica Plain!"

Ascer received a full-tuition scholarship from Boston College and completed his degree.

Juan Lugo
Juan attended COMPASS' Jamaica Plain school and graduated in June 2009, where he impressed with his engaging, warm personality. In his senior year, Juan showed an uncommon enthusiasm for Culinary Arts, and it was in the kitchen that Juan proved to himself and others that his dream to have a career in the food industry was a dream no more - Juan expects to start in the Culinary Arts program at Bunker Hill Community College this fall.

Pedro Fuentes
Both Pedro and his older brother graduated from the Holden School, and his family has been very active with the school by cooking for various events, reaching out to parents and attending all of our functions. Pedro graduated in June 2009.

In June 2007 Pedro was awarded a scholarship to travel to England as part of a youth ambassador group called "People to People." He has continued find ways to help fund his own education, as the recipient of a full scholarship to Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts, Boston. He won a significant portion of that money in a statewide cooking contest.