Jabari’s is an eight-year-old African American boy who was adopted by his European American fathers. Jabari’s biological parents were abusive and neglectful. He was left in his crib for hours all alone. As a toddler Jabari was found alone wandering near the freeway.

Jabari’s fathers like most parents want a quality education for their child. They enrolled him in a predominately white private school that serves mostly wealthy families. The school diversity outreach arm was short. His classmates and teachers did not validate his culture. Who was he to identify with and who were his role models at school? Did the teachers have the same expectations for Jabari as they did the white children? Jabari was separated from the other kids if he was involved in a playground dust up. The other parties were allowed to decide where they wanted to play and then Jabari was sent to another area to play by himself. His parents weren’t told that he was separated from the other children. The teachers asked that Jabari go to physical therapy to help with his hand writing. The school determined he was autistic without a professional assessment. His frightened parents’ took him to visit a school that treated children on the spectrum. While visiting the school his parents’ immediately understood that he was not autistic. The school suggested that he be evaluated by a neuropsychologist. While on a field trip a museum display was destroyed. A group of children and the teacher blamed Jabari. Luckily for Jabari a parent volunteer stood up for him. She said that he was not involved; that another child committed this infraction. This blaming cycle would take place many times.

His dads determined that it was time for Jabari to find a new school. Jabari’s new teacher immediately made a connection with him. She felt that he was smart and would excel if his needs were met. Those needs were: to feel safe and supported; peers and staff who he could racially identify with; authentic praise and constructive criticism of his academic/social performance.

The neuropsychologist came to the new Afro-Centric school to test and evaluate him. The doctor was surprised to witness the opposite of how Jabari’s behavior was described by his former school personnel. The defiance and physically attacking peers reported in his previous school was non-existent. The teaching staff tackled the writing problem by helping him learn to form his letters. He had not been taught how to form letters at his previous schools. Soon he was writing legibly and feeling proud of himself. He understood that his new teachers had high expectations of him. Jabari was used to being singled out and ostracized, but at his new school he was told by his classmates that he was welcome to play with them, but not too rough. Every infraction was not up for long involved discussions and his concerns about his peers were taken seriously. During school wide meetings, Jabari learned that everyone makes mistakes and they can learn from them.

The results of his psychological evaluation showed that Jabari is a typical seven-year-old child who has some anxiety about abandonment. Of course this makes sense because he was essentially abandoned by his biological parents. The neuropsychologist was pleased that he found a new school community where he could grow, learn and have his culture validated.

Jabari is thriving academically and socially. The school has regular contact with his fathers and they feel supported by the school which was the antithesis of what they felt from his previous academic setting. Jabari has now been in his new school for a year and a half. He is known for his keen sense of humor, deep critical thinking and having a smile on his face.