Shelarese Ruffin began developing an intervention program that enables middle and high school students to confront and overcome drug and other discipline problems, instead of being expelled from school.

Inspiration for the program occurred while she was working at a local drug prevention agency. Shelarese was reading about high school dropouts and the high rate of student expulsions. She decided she wanted to do something that would help give troubled kids a second chance.

While a student at Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School, she researched the issue and discussed it with others. Shelarese began to formulate a concept for a program that would appeal to at-risk teens and effectively address their problems, through both individual attention and group interaction. She and a committee of other interested people drafted a business plan and successfully applied for a $50,000 development grant. The group then sought the advice of experts, psychologists, and teachers who helped create a series of training modules.

Nearly 3,000 students participated in the program during the first two years. Eighty percent of them have successfully remained in school.

The program expanded to other states. Due to its growing time demands, Shelarese turned over most of the administration to a local agency.

Shelarese explained, “The class clown or the bully, or even the kid that does drugs…they have needs, too…Often their actions are a cry for help and there’s no one there to hear the call.”

When Shelarese was 17, she became a recipient of The Prudential Spirit of Community Award honoring America’s Ten Youth Volunteers.

(Atlanta, Georgia: 1998)
Story Courtesy of Prudential Spirit of Community Awards 2000