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Upon hearing the news that CIS would be relocating the CIS Site Coordinator, Teidra Gaspard, at Sarah T. Reed High School to another school because of funding issues, three Reed students took it upon themselves to start a petition to advocate for Ms. Gaspard to stay at Reed. They got over 110 signatures from students and adults on campus. After they delivered the petition to the district offices, they continued to advocate for themselves and their fellow students, and created a letter to the editor of the Times-Picayune. They sent a copy to Recovery School District Superintendent Paul Vallas on January 30th. It is quoted below verbatim:

“The three of us have been to thirteen high schools in the last four years. Loriell has been to four, Rhondra, has been to six, and I, Randian, have been to three. We have finally found someone at our school who helps us stay in school, and now she is being taken away from us. Ms. Gaspard is being removed from our school, and moving to a school that can fund her position. Why does Ms. Gaspard have to be taken away from us in the middle of the school year? We don't think that's right. She not only helps us but she evens helps students who are not in our class with whatever problems they're having. She has been there to call or talk to when we're going through things or not doing the right thing. She is changing the mindset of the students' one student at a time. There have been times when we just didn't want to come to school, go to class, or even disrespect a teacher, and because of Ms. Teidra we have rethought the situation. She has helped us to see the bigger picture; especially us who are parents or becoming parents. We have begun to realize that being successful in school, and not engaging ourselves in violence when it can be prevented is the right thing to do. She is the reason why some of us are trying to change and reach our full potential. She always saying stuff like: "Why you not in class? You just getting here? Don't fight. You're going to be suspended. How many days have your missed? What's going on with your grades; you need a tutor, what's your future plans. She is like a mother, sister and friend in one, although we do know she's our social worker. Please help us keep Ms. Teidra and Communities In Schools at Reed. She supports us, and we are doing better.

Sincerely,

Loriell Cooper, Senior Rhondra Hunter, Senior Randian Simon, Junior
Attendance improved by 29% Attendance improved by 62% Attendance improved by 61%”

CIS’ dropout prevention strategies were no doubt showing impressive results, as the number of excused absences of the 15 students with whom they were working with intensively dropped from 17 in the first quarter to 6 in the second, and the number of unexcused absences dropped from a staggering 295 days to 94 days. The words of the three students, together with a petition signed by more than 110 students and administrators, turned raw numbers on a report into something powerful.

The students’ advocacy worked. The leadership of the Recovery School District and Communities In Schools worked cooperatively to identify funding sources to continue the support to the Reed students by keeping Ms. Gaspard at the school this semester. More importantly, the young women experienced a healthy advocacy process that resulted in success, and today are inviting their friends who need help overcoming barriers to academic success to enroll in Communities In Schools’ programs at Reed High School. Randian, the writer of the petition is interested in starting a school paper at Reed so that students can continue to have their voices heard in a productive way.

Happy to have Ms. Teidra back, and energized by their success, the students are working harder than ever to maintain their attendance, and improve their grades.

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