Jayla – our first high school graduate!

Jayla is our first high school graduate at Friends of the Children NY!  She has been with the program for over 11 years, and we feel fortunate to have ushered her towards this juncture in her life with a promising plan for her future.

Like all of the children invited into Friends of the Children NY, Jayla was a kindergartener in Harlem who faced a number of risk factors. She was illiterate at the time when the rest of her classmates were starting to read and write. She was not interested or engaged in the classroom, and she would often lose focus and become sassy as a result. Meetings with school teachers and counselors confirmed that Jayla was a child at-risk.

Over the years, Jayla’s advocates, “the Friends,” have engaged her in outings and activities that promote her social, emotional, and academic growth. Further, we worked closely with her a few years ago to initiate the process of transferring her to a high school that better fits her needs and interests after she had a rough start in her new school. She is now excelling and is heading off to BMCC in the fall. She is interested in pursuing a degree in nursing.

Thanks to your donation, Jayla’s participates in Regents Test Prep workshops on a weekly basis. We are so proud of Jayla. Congratulations, graduate! And thank you for your generous gift!