CHOICES Champion

CHOICES NEWS:

Happy Holidays!

(Your CHOICES team: Caitlin, Leo, and Tiffany)

To all of our CHOICES friends…thank you for a terrific year! As we celebrate the holidays with good cheer (and some fun at Leo’s expense...love that sweater!), we are deeply appreciative of the commitment and passion you all bring to helping us reach more teens with our stay in school message. May you all experience much joy and fulfillment during this season and throughout the New Year!

If you’re a Chamber of Commerce or Service Club wanting to start a NEW CHOICES program in your local schools, contact us today – we may have funds available to cover your first-year CHOICES Program Fees! Funds are limited and restrictions apply, so contact us today at info@choices.org.

CHOICES MANAGEMENT TIP OF THE MONTH

Schedule Early and Often

With the holidays upon us, it is easy to let scheduling of second semester presentations slide until after the first of the year. But lots of standardized testing also happens in the second semester, so we suggest you make contact with your schools now, before the holiday break, to at least ask about scheduling these sessions. You may even be able to get them nailed down now so you don’t get pushed back next semester and end up squeezed into the last few weeks of the school year. Please contact your CHOICES representative for more help with scheduling your presentations.

CHOICES FIELD REPORT

CHOICES Presenter Recognizes Student as Co-Worker’s Grandson

Last year, while presenting to one of my classes, I recognized one of the students as a grandchild of a co-worker. Although Jordan didn’t recognize me, I took the liberty to include him in one of the class exercises, as well as assist in handing out materials. He was an absolute delight and a model student; well behaved and attentive. When I returned to work, his grandfather was amazed with my accolades about Jordan. Greg brushed it off under the premise Jordan had associated me with him. That evening Greg struck up a conversation about Jordan’s day at school. It didn’t take long to realize that Jordan hadn’t recognized me as his grandfather’s co-worker. Greg was then astounded by Jordan’s passion about the CHOICES class. Within weeks, Greg had noticed a change in Jordan’s study habits and his grades significantly improved by the next marking period. Over the years, I’ve had similar stories, but this one was extremely close to me as I knew both Greg and Jordan before the presentation. It normally happens at a community event or while out shopping that a student will introduce me to a parent as the presenter of the CHOICES program. That speaks volumes.

We're Seeking Success Stories from more CHOICES Kids, Teachers and Employers...

Do you know an employer who has hired a past CHOICES participant? Do you know of a teacher that has a story about a changed student? Do you know a student whose life was positively impacted by CHOICES? There is no more powerful way for us to demonstrate the impact of CHOICES, and to raise awareness of the dropout issue and what individuals and institutions can do about it, than to tell our stories…and they begin with you! Please send us your first and second hand accounts, any related photos (with proper permission as needed) and contacts so we can bring awareness and more resources to address the dropout epidemic. Please send your submissions to info@choices.org.