I’m just as connected to my elementary school as I am to my senior high school. I met two of my dearest friends there. We are watching each other’s children grow up. Through the wonders of social media I have reconnected with my Kindergarten and Pre-Kindergarten teachers. (Yes, they still remembered me all these years later).
I am flooded with good memories each time I think of those years. The majority of my elementary school classmates transitioned together to junior high school. Junior High School is where I met my two best friends (who are my daughter’s God-Mothers). We transitioned together to senior high school.
Even before the magic of social media, my tenth grade English and Social Studies teachers provided support and encouragement whenever I reached out to them. I’ve come to realize that they will never fully understand the impact they have had on the person I have become.
I lived in a neighborhood where few people moved away. Multiple generations of families knew each other and socialized together in my community. We were not rich and life was not perfect but for nearly three decades I was surrounded by familiar faces, encouragement, and special memories. Even at the height of the crack epidemic in the eighties in Washington, DC, I felt a sense of calm and security in my neighborhood.
I understand it is not the norm for most people to stay in one area for thirty years. So, why am I taking you on this ride down memory lane you ask? What does this all mean? These snippets are examples of the support and stability that epitomize my youth. I am writing this blog to highlight my firsthand account of the positive benefits of housing and academic stability and nurturing personal connections. Multiple housing placements, educational disruptions, and disconnection from family and friends should not be the norm in the life of any young person. Every youth in foster care deserves to have what I had – deep family and community roots.
Nicki Sanders, MSW, Chief Visionary Officer
The Teen Toolbox provides youth portfolio development and civic engagement and academic enrichment opportunities to help teens set goals for life after high school and create a road map to reach those goals through its PACKAGED FOR SUCCESS™ Programs.