College Acceptance for this school is 100% [View all]

[SoCalDem]

The article is from August but the story is a good one that I had missed.

Several things jumped out at me:

uniforms
discipline
elimination of "sports " as a focus
elimination of "electives"
local companies supporting/hiring/training kids in school
pride
community involvement
concentrating on kids who previously had few if any choices

While it;s a religious school, it seems to have found the sweet-spot, and is turning lives around, and giving many boys a future



http://www.leadertelegram.com/features/religion/article_b983c580-f2d5-5094-9f09-373c01ba5cec.html

Posted: Saturday, August 24, 2013 12:00 am

By Angel Jennings Los Angeles Times | 0 comments

LOS ANGELES - The young man with braces and close-cropped hair as precise as a geometry lesson steps onto the stage at Verbum Dei High School, grabs the microphone from the lectern and introduces himself.

"My name is Ricardo Placensia," he says, then lets out a nervous laugh. "I interned at Locke Lord law firm, and this fall I will be attending UC Riverside."

The crowd at the all-male Catholic school in Watts erupts in applause.

Later in the ceremony, another teenager with precision-cut hair - but no braces - takes his moment in the spotlight.

"Hi. I'm Roberto Placensia," he says. "I've been interning for four years at Keenan & Associates, and this fall, I will be attending the University of California, Riverside."


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