News Very Proud of My Old School

**gblowfish** · 05-18-2015, 10:10 AM

It's Graduation Season. Saw this news story on TV last night. My alma mater, Van Horn, did something very special for a dying classmate. I'm very proud of Van Horn as it has risen from the ashes that was the KC School District and all the levels of massive FAIL. They've turned things completely around now that they're in the Independence School District, and it shows in the school facility, the stability of the neighborhood and the high character of the kids. Couldn't be happier with how things have changed. Congrats to the Grads, and well done. Story is here:

http://fox4kc.com/2015/05/17/teen-wi...tion-ceremony/

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — Jacob Richey has only months to live, and his condition meant that he couldn’t make it to his high school graduation.

So his high school brought the special day to him.

Richey, who suffers from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, is a Van Horn High School student — but he has never been able to attend class due to the disease, instead taking classes at home. But several Van Horn students and Independence School District staffers decided that they wanted to do something special for him.

On Sunday, friends, classmates and well-wishers gathered to give Richey, 18, what he always wanted, a graduation ceremony.

“The people who are here, are very excited to be here. And are loving that they are able to do this,” said Mindy Holthe said.

Doctors say that Richey’s heart and lungs are shutting down, and he has only a few months left before he succumbs to the disease. But his family says that he has finally met his goal—just in time.

“He’s figured it out and he’s done it. And he’s never gave up,” said Richey’s mom, Melissa Richey.

thabear04 · 05-18-2015, 10:16 AM

Nice story.

Al Bundy · 05-18-2015, 10:21 AM

That's awesome.

scho63 · 05-18-2015, 12:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gblowfish

It's Graduation Season. Saw this news story on TV last night. My alma mater, Van Horn, did something very special for a dying classmate. I'm very proud of Van Horn as it has risen from the ashes that was the KC School District and all the levels of massive FAIL. They've turned things completely around now that they're in the Independence School District, and it shows in the school facility, the stability of the neighborhood and the high character of the kids. Couldn't be happier with how things have changed. Congrats to the Grads, and well done. Story is here:

http://fox4kc.com/2015/05/17/teen-wi...tion-ceremony/

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — Jacob Richey has only months to live, and his condition meant that he couldn’t make it to his high school graduation.

So his high school brought the special day to him.

Richey, who suffers from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, is a Van Horn High School student — but he has never been able to attend class due to the disease, instead taking classes at home. But several Van Horn students and Independence School District staffers decided that they wanted to do something special for him.

On Sunday, friends, classmates and well-wishers gathered to give Richey, 18, what he always wanted, a graduation ceremony.

“The people who are here, are very excited to be here. And are loving that they are able to do this,” said Mindy Holthe said.

Doctors say that Richey’s heart and lungs are shutting down, and he has only a few months left before he succumbs to the disease. But his family says that he has finally met his goal—just in time.

“He’s figured it out and he’s done it. And he’s never gave up,” said Richey’s mom, Melissa Richey.

Are you saying George that once you left it began to succeed?

**gblowfish** · 05-18-2015, 02:41 PM

Sort of. I graduated in 1977. The Kansas City Public School District started its desegregation efforts in 1978. That meant busing kids...both black and white... all over the KC Metro to "Magnet Schools." Magnet Schools specialized in various things at different schools: Foreign Language, Engineering, Sports, Arts, College Prep, etc. Sounds good in theory. But what happened was massive white flight in Western Independence to Lee's Summit (it grew from one high school to three high schools) and to Blue Springs (grew from one to two) and a bunch of Christian Schools , Charter Schools and Catholic Schools got big enrollments from defections in the district. Then the KCPSD went through about eight top administrators in about a ten year span -most of them were assholes and crooks- and the entire district had to be bailed out with cash from the State of Missouri. Even with that waste of billions of dollars of state money, the magnet program was a colossal failure, and the district lost its accreditation. In 2003, a judge finally ruled the desegregation program was a massive failure, and KC Schools went back to neighborhood schools again. Independence voters forced a vote to transfer Van Horn from KC School District to the Independence School District -Van Horn is in the city of Independence. The vote passed overwhelmingly, and since Van Horn got into a decent school district, families have been moving back in, property values have gone up, and the quality of the kids learning experience has been much better. So with a much better school, you get much better kids.

Read about the ruling here:
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/...ity-suit_x.htm

05-18-2015, 10:10 AM
gblowfish Be Kind To Your Pets Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Glorious Independence, MO Casino cash: $17686178 VARSITY	Very Proud of My Old School It's Graduation Season. Saw this news story on TV last night. My alma mater, Van Horn, did something very special for a dying classmate. I'm very proud of Van Horn as it has risen from the ashes that was the KC School District and all the levels of massive FAIL. They've turned things completely around now that they're in the Independence School District, and it shows in the school facility, the stability of the neighborhood and the high character of the kids. Couldn't be happier with how things have changed. Congrats to the Grads, and well done. Story is here: http://fox4kc.com/2015/05/17/teen-wi...tion-ceremony/ INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — Jacob Richey has only months to live, and his condition meant that he couldn’t make it to his high school graduation. So his high school brought the special day to him. Richey, who suffers from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, is a Van Horn High School student — but he has never been able to attend class due to the disease, instead taking classes at home. But several Van Horn students and Independence School District staffers decided that they wanted to do something special for him. On Sunday, friends, classmates and well-wishers gathered to give Richey, 18, what he always wanted, a graduation ceremony. “The people who are here, are very excited to be here. And are loving that they are able to do this,” said Mindy Holthe said. Doctors say that Richey’s heart and lungs are shutting down, and he has only a few months left before he succumbs to the disease. But his family says that he has finally met his goal—just in time. “He’s figured it out and he’s done it. And he’s never gave up,” said Richey’s mom, Melissa Richey.
Posts: 40,830

05-18-2015, 10:16 AM	#2
thabear04 MTFU Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: The Valley Heat Casino cash: $5700450	Nice story.
Posts: 7,229

05-18-2015, 10:21 AM	#3
Al Bundy Damnit Peg Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Overland Park Casino cash: $5391831	That's awesome.
Posts: 23,315

05-18-2015, 02:41 PM	#5
gblowfish Be Kind To Your Pets Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Glorious Independence, MO Casino cash: $17686178 VARSITY	Sort of. I graduated in 1977. The Kansas City Public School District started its desegregation efforts in 1978. That meant busing kids...both black and white... all over the KC Metro to "Magnet Schools." Magnet Schools specialized in various things at different schools: Foreign Language, Engineering, Sports, Arts, College Prep, etc. Sounds good in theory. But what happened was massive white flight in Western Independence to Lee's Summit (it grew from one high school to three high schools) and to Blue Springs (grew from one to two) and a bunch of Christian Schools , Charter Schools and Catholic Schools got big enrollments from defections in the district. Then the KCPSD went through about eight top administrators in about a ten year span -most of them were assholes and crooks- and the entire district had to be bailed out with cash from the State of Missouri. Even with that waste of billions of dollars of state money, the magnet program was a colossal failure, and the district lost its accreditation. In 2003, a judge finally ruled the desegregation program was a massive failure, and KC Schools went back to neighborhood schools again. Independence voters forced a vote to transfer Van Horn from KC School District to the Independence School District -Van Horn is in the city of Independence. The vote passed overwhelmingly, and since Van Horn got into a decent school district, families have been moving back in, property values have gone up, and the quality of the kids learning experience has been much better. So with a much better school, you get much better kids. Read about the ruling here: http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/...ity-suit_x.htm
Posts: 40,830