Jenelle met our School Outreach Coordinator Alexis Jordan at Totem Middle School last year. Although at the time the two had a rocky start, Alexis was a constant positive support for her and soon earned her trust.
Jenelle was no stranger to getting into trouble at school and skipping classes or even skipping the school day all together. When Jenelle finally felt comfortable speaking more candidly to Alexis, she was able to admit that she was “hanging around the wrong crowd,” and they had influenced some of Jenelle’s behavior. Their bond only grew stronger from there, committing to do better and striving to be the person who would show up for everything.
Janelle knew that she needed the extra support especially when it came to making the right decisions and the door at Communities In Schools would always be open to her. Having an adult that she could lean on and trust was instrumental to her success. Jenelle reflected with Alexis on the types of “obnoxious and disrespectful” people she used to surround herself with and said, “I have learned my lesson, I don’t want to be around any of that, just thinking about being around people like that makes my head hurt and I can not believe I used to act like that, I am going to try being more careful about who I surround myself with.” This was an amazing moment of growth for Jenelle and Alexis was honored to be able to bear witness to it. Jenelle has now moved on from Totem and just finished her first year at Thomas Jefferson High School where she is still connecting with Communities In Schools and Alexis.