4 Troubled Teens Blog

When Jade Vanacore started teaching music therapy at a school for troubled boys, she never imagined it would end at a recording studio. But as the boys began to open up and share their own poems and lyrics, the focus of her classes shifted.

"She encouraged each of the boys to write songs about their past experiences. She also brought a number of beats, or instrumental hip-hop songs, so the boys could start putting their words to music."

With the help of South Beach's Collins Studio, Vanacore treated the boys to a day in the studio where they were able to record their songs. Producer Corey Hill said a lot of the boys had potential as lyricists and rappers, if they "work hard and stay out of trouble." Source: Miami Herald

Labels: music, dreams, hope

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

The Medford School District in Oregon has the state's second-highest homeless student population. A teacher and film producer are joining forces to try and offer help and hope to this often-forgotten group of kids.

"Steve Pine, regional coordinator for career and technical education at the Southern Oregon Education Service District, and Sam Baldoni, owner of Inspired Films Inc., hope to launch the Oregon Youth Academy for grades nine through 12 by fall 2009."

The academy will be able to take in 200 to 400 students at a time and will teach video production along with more standard curriculum. The hope is that they can teach at-risk kids how to apply academics to something they find interesting.

Mount Bachelor Academy, a boarding school in Oregon, offers a college prep curriculum in addition to a therapeutic and emotional growth program. They are also the first boarding school in the country to offer an adoption-specific curriculum. Learn more at www.mtba.com.

Labels: homelessness, teachers, hope

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

In Leesburg, Florida and the surrounding communities, a movement has started to make mentors available to some of the more vulnerable teens in the area. Inspiration for the mentoring program came after three young men were arrested for shooting at police deputies outside the 22nd National Conference on Preventing Crime in the Black Community.

"At breakfast this week in Leesburg, [Pernell] Mitchell encouraged potential mentors not to let their pasts hinder them from helping children. Some group members have overcome criminal histories and turned their lives around for the better."

The Leesburg mentoring chapter is part of a nationwide organization called 100 Black Men of America, which was founded in 1963 to make positive changes in the community. The national group has, to date, mentored over 100,000 young people.

Labels: mentoring, criminals, hope

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments