Student Stories - Cindy

Illustrator: Avery Sylig, age 15

Cindy was failing the ninth grade which was not surprising given her long history of problems. She cut classes regularly, was often truant, and had been suspended several times. When she did attend school, she might walk out in the middle of class.

Cindy didn't respond to her high school's outreach efforts. She ran away from home, knocking her mother down when her mother tried to stop her from leaving. Her mother filed a PINS petition. This request to family court asks for help with a juvenile who is out of control or fails to attend school. PINS stand for Person in Need of Supervision. As a result of this petition, Cindy was placed on probation for a year. The judge also ordered an evaluation by a mental health service that lead to ongoing counseling. Cindy has a law guardian representing her in family court, a case manager to help connect Cindy and her mom to community services. Her mother attended a family support group. Still, Cindy's problems at school persisted. Her law guardian asked Cindy's mom to request Student Advocacy's help.

The Educational Advocate who represented Cindy began to investigate her school problems. She learned that Cindy was already designated as a learning disabled student who had been receiving some additional help in the regular high school. When the school psychologist tested her in the ninth grade, he found that Cindy functioning at the fifth grade level in both reading and math. She stumbled through simple reading passages and had difficulty answering questions about the material she had just read. Her writing skills were also far below grade level. Practically, these problems meant that each day at school was an experience of frustration and failure. When Cindy felt stupid at school, she left.

Once the extent of Cindy's learning problems were well documented, the Educational Advocate negotiated for Cindy to receive intensive reading instruction and attend a small, more structured academic program. She was transferred to the district's alternative high school. Although academic improvement will take time, Cindy has started to attend school regularly. She likes the staff at the school who help her to understand that she has a learning disability which does not mean that she is stupid.