The school social worker in the Omaha Public Schools Accelere Program was concerned that after a good start to the 2022-23 school year, Geovany’s attendance was slipping, and he was failing his classes. She believed a D2 Center Youth Academic Navigator (YAN) could help him reach his goal of graduating in the spring of 2023. YAN Hansel Gonzalez first met Geovany in early December, and he again failed his class that month. Hansel considered the challenges that Geovany faced since he and his family had come from Guatemala in 2018 when Geovany was a 9th grader. He spent his first year of high school attending the ESL Literacy Center learning the English language. When he transferred to a regular high school in 10th grade, most of the classes he took continued to be ESL electives. He gradually began working on required classes along with his ESL classes to earn the necessary credits for graduation. Geovany got good grades and was really focused on school. But when Hansel met him as a 12th grader, he had gotten a job at a meat processing plant and was working full time (4 p.m. to 1 a.m. on weekdays). Supporting himself and his family became a priority, and school attendance slipped into the background. When they talked about his job interfering with school, Geovany respectfully made it clear to Hansel that giving up the job wasn’t an option. He felt a strong sense of responsibility to help his family financially.
Hansel tried a different tactic. He would communicate more often and encourage him to get up and go to school, even if he felt tired, because he only needed seven required credits to graduate. Hansel texted and made phone calls, made home visits, and met him frequently at Accelere. He reminded Geovany how proud his parents would be when he graduated. Hansel talked to the Accelere ESL resource teacher, and he encouraged Geovany to get help from her. His mother told Hansel that she would often remind her son that the family had moved from Guatemala to provide a better future for him and his sisters. His attendance gradually improved, and he once again started earning credits. With a couple credits to go, Geovany learned that he would be a father later in 2023. This really lit a fire under him, and he began making plans to not only finish high school but also to save money to move out of his family home and start a home of his own. He talked about becoming a mechanic someday, but for now he would continue working. After graduating, he said to Hansel, “Thank you for pushing me, Hansel. Someday, it will mean a lot to be able to tell my kids I graduated from high school!”