Tuesday, December 11, 2012 at 4:55PM Start your new year off right...
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It's time to get back to work!
Tuesday, November 13, 2012 at 2:29PM 
Honored to speak at the 1st annual dropout recovery symposium held at the Crowne Plaza Baton Rouge hotel. The day started off with an introduction from Doug Bonner who is the Dropout Recovery Advisor for the state of Louisiana. Doug is a retired NHL goalie who has both a passion and a love for recovering and re-engaging schools and districts throughout the state in reaching high school dropouts. Doug is an all around great guy and a love for what most would consider "throw-a-way" youth because of their academic and personal life challenges. But, Doug sees them the way I see them as youth of promise with the desire to make something of themselves and as fate would have it, we came together today to advocate for the future leaders of tomorrow - high school dropouts.
I was elated to kick off the conference with my presentation on reaching high school dropouts. Please feel free to check it out and share with others: http://prezi.com/rfh-va4mhw6v/no-dropouts-solving-the-high-school-dropout-epidemic/?auth_key=00c2a3f09af74bb2f81c22dd6bc94af97620e400
The facts are clear, every 26 seconds a teen drops out of high school. During my presentation 138 more teens dropped out of school. Our nation needs to have a sense of urgency regarding high school dropouts and with the advent of common core state standards if districts do not seriously think of different solutions to reach hard to serve youth, our nation will lose thousands of jobs to more qualified college educated professionals from other countries. Not only have we fallen behind academically but most high school and college graduates lack the work-readiness skills to stay employed, if they even get hired. The next five years will be crucial in laying down the foundation for tomorrow's leaders to be college and career ready. My children will depend on leaders of tomorrow who have both the attitude and the aptitude to lead our communities, but, the big question is will we have enough qualified candidates to take on this role?
One place it starts is with going back into our communities and reaching high school dropouts in our communities and making sure they graduate from high school. Then we need to make sure that they have the right mentors in their lives to get and keep a job that can provide for themselves to stand on their own two feet. I have met so many adults in their 30s and 40s who still count on mommy and daddy to live. That's not living!
No Dropouts is one answer to serving high school dropouts throughout this nation. I look forward to the time when the political window opens to this silent education killer and when it does I will be right there with No Dropouts to provide solid academic support and creative social solutions to meet young people where they are at and teach them life skills to thrive and not just survive!
My heart goes out to high school dropouts who are pregnant, or in a gang, or homeless, or hooked on drugs angry and frustrated at where they are with their life choices. But, remember that life is a matter of choice and if you make the right decisions in your life you will reap the benefits from those decisions. So today, decide to make better choices, get back in school, finish your education. Allow caring adults in your life to lead you, mentor you, coach you, care for you. I'm amazed at the number of caring adults that I come in contact with but the problem is many young people feel that they can do it own their own or have an entitlement mentality like the world owes them something. The world owes you nothing! What you get in life is what you put in to your life. And so, I say to the high school drop out that is reading this right now that I believe in you, I have walked in your shoes, however, I did not let my past circumstances become my current reality and you don't have to either. Life is a matter of choice and if you need someone to speak life into you, my name is Doug Luffborough and let me mentor you...dougluff.com
Thursday, August 30, 2012 at 2:36PM On Wednesday the 22nd, I was fortunate to be the Keynote Speaker for the 2012 Juvenile Drug Court Graduation Ceremony supported by the San Diego Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council, San Diego County Juvenile Probation Department, the District Attorney's Office and jthe Public Defender's Office.
My message to the 55 graduates was simple yet hard to live out. It was the me I see is the me I will be...how you see yourself in life is what you will become. As I looked out among the audience I saw a glimmer of hope in the eyes of the graduates, many of whom had never graduated from anything before. This success symbols the accomplishment of completion and being able to finish what you started.
Many parents also attended the graduation in support of their son or daughter and you could see the pride on their faces as the ones they love received honor and recognition. Specifically, it was great to witness the face of one mom realizing that her son stayed clean for over nine months and successfully graduated from this program.
The me I see is the me I will be...how you see yourself in life is what you will become. Live out what you see about yourself...even when no one is looking. Cheering you on all the way!
Check out coverage of the actual event below:
Tuesday, August 21, 2012 at 10:01PM
This was my first time going back to New Orleans after Katrina. I did not know what the situation would be like but I was humbled by the experience. I could feel the sorrow coming from the ground mixed with the hope of a new beginning. In fact I was working at St. Mary's Academy, one of the oldest Catholic schools in the United States that was located on the East side of New Orleans. The school was destroyed by Katrina and rebuilt from the ground up. Before Katrina the school, predominantly African- American had an enrollment of around 800 students but post Katrina they went down to only 400 students but the desire to teach was stronger than ever and I knew that it would be a great day!
Despite the heat the one day training was amazing. I love working with educators who never forget where they came from and maintain their eagerness to learn more and grow themselves. At one point in a room filled with over 75 educators you could hear a pin drop because we were all focused on becoming better in the classroom. I have no doubt that St. Mary's will do great things for their students and families that attend that school. The Nuns and administrators were in a class all by themselves. Sister Mary Lou is a wonderful role model to what servant leadership is all about. When it was time to leave the school I did not want to go but I knew I needed to. Something very special happened at St. Mary's and I pray that I will have an opportunity somehow to continue working with this group of special Godly people.
Then it was off to Atlanta, Georgia to prepare for a consulting day in Lithonia, GA at Leadership Preparatory Academy Charter School located on the campus of Bishop Eddie Long's Church. The campus was mesmerizing and looked like a small college campus. When I arrived Dr. Callahan was waiting for me and had big expectations regarding what their school would receive for that day. I was ready for some challenges but embraced the agenda we had before us. I knew that I could deliver because one of my core values in life is to delight people...to exceed expectations so my desire is and always will be to go above and beyond the expectations being set. I met a new friend who worked both for the school and for the church named Mrs. Varner who ended up inviting me to dinner with her husband for a southern hospitality home cooked meal. I was overwhelmed by their hospitality and generous heart to love others. The dinner was amazing and I believe I have another set of parents in Lithonia, GA. What I learned through the entire experience is that sometimes total strangers will treat you better than those who claim to be closest to you. I have worked and done life with some folks for over 15 years and they have never...ever invited me and my family over to their home for anything, yet a total stranger opens her home in love and feeds me. I must admit that more than my stomach got feed that day...my soul opened up to expanding my circle of influence to include those who celebrate my successes and not tolerate or even worse criticize them. Experience has taught me that those that criticize the most are the least accomplished at achieving greatness in their own lives...so the best advice is to remove them from your circle and move on!
The training went so well I was asked to come back later that evening and speak to over 300 parents and students for their Back to School Night orientation. After I finished many parents came up to me and asked me questions about my past, my successes at Harvard, and past struggles as a young boy without a father figure in my life. In the end, we laughed, we cried, and I extended my family to include the folks in Lithonia, GA. who were determined to be the best and live a life of destiny and not a life a chance. I too hope that other doors will open and that greater opportunities will present themselves to return to Leadership Preparatory Academy Charter School. The best and most blessed is truly still to come!
