Some Background about Darrell Lee
and His Trek Across America
With the exception of those of us choosing to work with the teens of this
country, the term "adolescent" usually send shivers down the spine
of the average adult. As an educator with 17 years experience in junior
high teaching/counseling, I have come to love the kids that fill our middle
and junior high schools. So much so, that I believe we can do a better job.
But we can't do it alone.
I am in search of places that emphasize and practice family, school and
community collaboration. Together with my wife Corinne, sons Ian 13, Tyler
12, and dog Cody, we left Bothell, Washington on August 8, 1999 for a one-year
journey around the US to explore the mysterious world of teens and their
communities.
Yes, our schools themselves have made many changes for the better during
the reform movement that has swept across our country and individual states.
I am aware that Washington State, like many others, has put standards in
place, developed instruments to measure them, and raised the overall expectations
of teacher and student. This process has generated much discussion and interest
in what our kids need to be successful in today's world. Yet, I still see
many kids unprepared, and moving through their teen years with much difficulty.
In the last year or so, it seemed that everything I read pointed to the
need for increased attention, resources and programs for our middle school
kids in order to assist them through what David Hamburg, President of the
Carnegie Corporation, called the "tortuous passage".
My school is Canyon Park Junior High in the Northshore School District.
It's been around since my own attendance in the late 1960's. Canyon Park,
at least from my perspective, sent most students on adequately prepared
for high school and beyond. We, too, have been implementing new curriculum,
raising standards and trying to find new ways to support our kids. But "we"
aren't enough. I truly believe that the teachers in my school, as in most
schools around the country, are running just about as fast as they can,
and doing a pretty good job. What's missing -- so far as the total development
of our students is concerned -- is not found inside the school building,
but outside.
That's why I have been so excited to read materials from places like the
Search Institute of Minneapolis that identify "what teens need to succeed."
They have confirmed my own experience and that of my boys by identifying
40 assets we can develop in our young teens -- asset development that requires
the involvement of other adults as mentors; participation in sports, music
or community programs; and support from a caring community.
Additionally, everything from the National Education Goals to John's Hopkins
University's Center on School, Family and Community Partnerships identify
the same thing: families and communities must be involved in the development
of our youth in order to produce the kinds of capable and confident adults
our society needs. We know this from our own experience and from seeing
it in our youth.
But this type of involvement is not easy, especially with the volatile,
early teenager. That's why I have been excited to read about places like
City Heights Community School Project in San Diego where 30,000 hours were
volunteered by parents of middle school students. Then there's Okabena and
Heron Lake, Minnesota -- two communities that joined together to create
a new concept school focused on using the resources around them. As a result,
they drew 79 new students to their school and, instead of closing down and
being absorbed by a larger district nearby, they are prospering.
I've read about all this programs -- and many more. But it's not enough
for me. Twenty years ago, I read a book by Peter Jenkins entitled A
Walk Across America. In it, he talks of seeing this country up close,
learning about what is right in America instead of reading constantly about
what is wrong. It spawned a dream in me to also see this land up close,
discovering what is going right, especially involving our most important
resource: our youth.
So, I set about convincing my district to grant me a sabbatical (which means
full base salary!!) in order to search out these unique places. Through
my proposal, research and presentation, I must have sounded coherent enough
for them to take a chance on me. They said yes, with the stipulation that
I chronicle what we find and come back as a catalyst for change in my own
school and community. Thus, we set about planning. We found the preparation
to be much more challenging than we first thought (renting our house, finding
a trailer, cell phone, computer, what to pack for a year, and what to do
with our cat, ducks and guinea pigs. .)
Still, we are expecting of the time of our lives.
I anticipate finding some great people like Principal Michelle Pedigo of
Glasgow Middle School -- recently designated as a "School to Watch"
by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform; innovative programs
like Project B.E.S.T.(Building Educational Success Together) in Taunton,
Massachusetts; and meeting some amazing kids like those participating on
the Collaborative Action Team at PGT Beauregard Middle School in St. Bernard,
Louisiana.
I also imagine I will see some of the same frustrations we all face daily
in education -- such as a lack of resources, a shortage of time, and apathetic
communities. In no way do I expect to find all the answers or a school community
that has it "all together." There just aren't any. But I have
a strong feeling that when seen together over the course of this year, these
striving communities will inspire my family and myself. Our hope is that
we will be able to share this encouragement back home as well as with all
of you who listen in at MiddleWeb.
At the same time, we don't want to just find communities where adults
are highly involved with teens. We are going to BE one. By "road schooling"
our seventh and eighth graders, we will be shattering the weekly 8-minute
national average of meaningful parent/child time. This is not something
we have done before, so if you stay tuned you will be getting in on the
highs and lows of first-timers, plus some excerpts from our "victims."
So come along with us and we will share with you what we learn from Taunton
to Texas, and Louisville to Louisiana. The first stop is Madison, Wisconsin,
identified by several publications as a "great place to raise a family".
Let's find out why.
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