Instead of suspending youth for 45 days for exhibiting gang-related behavior, administrators at Mount Tahoma High School enlisted the assistance of the Northwest Leadership Foundation (NLF) to bring in a program to help the students. The result â?? the ProTeen: Street Behaviors, which now has over 70 members, representing 10 different gangs. Â

Of all the members, Program Director Julie Martinez said more than 50 would have been suspended if it wasnâ??t for the program. Administrators at Mt. Tahoma allow the students to participate in the program instead of serving their full suspension period; 45 days may be reduced to 10 days, and 10 days could be lessened to three days or no days. However, if the student does not actively engage in ProTeen, the original suspension period goes into effect.

The focus of the program, according to Martinez, is to improve attendance, reduce suspensions/expulsions and reduce disciplinary incidents.

Each student is supposed to be in the program for a period of four weeks, but most stay longer, according to Walter Williams, site coordinator for the program at Mt. Tahoma. He added that several students have also joined ProTeen voluntarily. â??The students enjoy the personal engagement,â?? Williams noted.

â??Itâ??s beginning to be what I dreamed it could be,â?? he continued. â??(Itâ??s) something to help the kids.â??

Mt. Tahoma Principal Greg Eisnaugle described Williams as a â??very passionate guy who does a great jobâ?? for the students.

Kurt Miller, director of education initiatives for NLF and a Tacoma school board member, said the ProTeen program began four years ago to help students who had been expelled from Tacoma Public Schools. Over the years, it morphed into the Street Behaviors program to assist youth on the road to expulsion, according to Miller. â??Weâ??re now able to have a more preventive role,â?? Martinez said, by avoiding suspensions, keeping the teenagers in school and advocating on their behalf. â??Weâ??re able to reach out to a lot more kids.â??

Currently, four ProTeen staff members are on site at Mt. Tahoma Monday through Friday, according to Martinez: three AmeriCorps volunteers and Williams. Â

Williams said ProTeen has helped the youth change their behavior and learn better decision-making skills.

Martinez explained that ProTeen gives the students an outlet to be honest about their lifestyle as gang members and provides them a forum where they know they are valued and people want to listen and help. â??It (ProTeen) gives the kids a chance to have a positive impact and voice,â?? she added.

Program activities include discussion groups, guest speakers, tutoring, truancy mentoring and a weekly trip to Jason Lee Middle School to participate in the Hilltop Artists in Residence Program.

In addition to keeping the students in school and off the streets, the ProTeen program has been instrumental in helping the youth deal with the tragic loss of Fernando Sandoval, a 17-year-old Mt. Tahoma student who was killed recently in Manitou Park, according to Williams. During a ProTeen meeting May 31, just one day after Associated Ministries held a moment of blessing ceremony for Sandoval, Williams talked to the students frankly about death and how painful it is. The students openly discussed whom they have lost in their own personal lives and how they have coped with the losses.

Williams told the students their beloved friend was headed down the wrong path in life, and they shouldnâ??t repeat his mistakes. â??Being in a gang is uncool,â?? he commented. Several of the students walked out of the room during this discussion, but each returned eventually. Many of the other students just looked down at the floor.

â??We helped the kids process it,â?? Martinez said, â??and dealt with it immediately and in-depth.â??

Ninth-grader Connie Sem said at first she was reluctant to participate in the program, even though she had to. â??I hated it,â?? she commented. â??I was just lazy and wanted to go home.â?? But now, she said, she is enjoying learning a lot of things about life through the program.

Eleventh-grader Cristina Castaneda said being in ProTeen has made her re-think some of the things she used to do and straighten her act up. She said she is skipping school less now.

â??I came in here thinking it was just a punishment. However, these people are trying to help us,â?? explained ninth-grader Chris Matthews; he landed in the program after several incidents of fighting, which he noted he doesnâ??t do anymore.

â??Itâ??s been a huge improvement for us,â?? Eisnaugle said, noting the ProTeen program is coupled with strict discipline by the district. â??It gives us that component where we can hold students accountable while at the same time provide services to help the families and the students make better choices.â??

The program, which started in February, still has it skeptics. â??Canâ??t no one change me but me,â?? commented 10th-grader Rebecca Zarate. â??It (ProTeen) hasnâ??t helped me do anything.â??

Martinez said she realizes ProTeen isnâ??t an â??instant fix,â?? but believes it is going to help the students in a year or so, even if they may not know it yet. She noted NLF is currently seeking other sources of funding to provide the program during long school breaks and the summer months. Earlier this year, Tacoma School Board approved close to $12,500 to cover the salaries of the ProTeen staff members.