SUCCESS STORIES My daughter, Margaret, has struggled with dyslexia and moderate ADHD since the age of five, and has done poorly in regular school, both public and private. Since she began attending Options For Youth in Van Nuys, her grades have gone from D’s and F’s to A’s and B’s…and that is only in one Semester! In addition, Margaret has made huge progress in personal responsibility and has improved her reading and writing levels by almost two grade levels. For my family, Options For Youth has been an answer to prayer, and finally proves what we have been saying for over ten years…our daughter is intelligent; she just learns in a different way than other children. My daughter took a slight detour in her life path, getting involved with drugs and alcohol. In the group home she was in, the education was with the Options For Youth Charter School. The teachers at the school got her turned back on to education and she was once again excited about school and even college. When she came home she was still eligible to go back to her high school but she wanted to stay with the Charter program. She said that there was too much easy access to drugs and alcohol and the teachers just looked the other way and if she went back to her regular school she would end up back where she just came from. The regular public high school had failed her, not calling me of her absences, not notifying me when they suspected her to be under the influence and just ignoring the issue. At the Charter program she knew that this would not happen. They hold her accountable and notify me the minute she falls below the agreed upon academic standards. They make her work and she is learning as opposed to the local continuation school that passes kids if they show up for class, regardless of their academic progress. I am a twenty-one year old graduate of Options For Youth. When I was sixteen I was diagnosed with Spondyloarthritis. Because of this painful, crippling disease I was forced to drop out of high school. I had no hope, no ambition. I felt as if there was nothing left for me to live for. But then I talked to K.C., a teacher at Options For Youth. He gave me hope again. I enrolled, but I was still worried about my sick days, when I couldn't get out of bed and wondered how this would affect my performance. To my surprise, Options For Youth worked with me so I could finish high school. Through all of the time and pain, K.C. and Options For Youth, I graduated in 1998. It was a dream come true, a dream that I owe to Options For Youth! My granddaughter became disinterested in regular public schools after her father died of cancer in 1997. She missed much school and was assigned to the Options For Youth program in Upland, California. She has regained her confidence and motivation to succeed in school this past year and now even has chosen a career path, the teaching profession! She credits the small class and caring teaching staff for her success.