Through Their Eyes: Poetic Reflections

As a part of RE's weekly programs, all of our youth are enrolled in activities that we call Enriching Experiences. The poems below are reflections from a class entitled, Creative Expressions, which is led by our in-house and talented artist, Mr. Kevin Parker. Enjoy these poems from several of our middle school youth. Feel free to respond and give these young people some positive reinforcement for their effort.

Torn by Nayya Greaves

Torn down and new built back up
They say our generation will never make the cut
But lets prove them wrong
And stand strong like King Kong

Killing and abusing one another
Thought we were supposed to help not hurt our sisters and brothers
Follow in our ancestor steps
Enhance out Black History in which they kept, in our hearts!
Nayya Greaves
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ONE by Eddie Turner

We sit and look
But take nothing

We dont care
All we do is sit and stare

Not us all but most
And most is us
And us is you and I
And I is me
And I need to show all
And little did you know
The word all is 1
Eddie turner
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Speechless by Rashad Bates

I really dont have anything to say
But
My generation has passed away
Its a big huge mess
None of us want more, just less

We have all died
And
The white man lied
'u
Black on Black crime
So poor cant even buy a lime!
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My Generation by Phyllis Thomas

Is a Mess
We live in
the unfair
die for the other
children come next

As you look at it
Decreasing
Becoming less

Our neighborhood
Its so messed up
People are misunderstood

We sit and don't care
about our city, its not up to the mayor

Its crazy
people do what they have to do
It’s up to you!

High school students to earn college credit at Clark Atlanta University

High school students to earn college credit at Clark Atlanta University

Raising Expectations is proud to announce that 1 of our students is in this program. What a great opportunity! Great job Angelina Barden!

re summer camp

Check out our Raising Expectations Project RISE Summer camp video. Our 7 week camp covered topics from Traveling around the Globe, Protecting our Environment, Science and Technology just to name a few.

Exposing RE Girls to Technology & Engineering

Our first day of camp at Georgia Tech was not what I expected but I enjoyed it. We went to see a chemical engineer that taught us how to make gel. Mykia and I were partners, we mixed water and other chemicals to make something that turned out like jell-o. Then we went to a nail polish station and designed our own colors. We also visited an airspace station and learned how airplanes fly.
Shakia Hoosier 8th grade RE 2nd year student

When I first started camp I was a little worried because I’m not use to going to camp. But I was wrong, on my first day I had a blast! I made new friends and participated in interesting classes. We also visited a lab where we watched cells grow. Then we went to a class where we learned how to style and make websites. Most of our classes were about engineering, bioengineering and aerospace engineering. Can’t wait til Thursday when we will go back to the lab to see how our cells are growing.
Mykia Green 8th grade 3rd year RE student

I made new friends and learned about the many types of engineering like civil, chemical, industrial and many more. We made cells grow and mixed nail polish and learned about building websites. Can’t wait til tomorrow, we get to go swimming at the huge pool on Georgia Tech’s campus.
Zaria Palmer 8th grade 2nd year RE student

Raising Expectations' Work is Honored by Jack and Jill

Click here to view AJC article.

Raising Expectations @ 11 Alive News

Wow! When I went to 11 Alive I had a tremendous time. The people there were so nice to us. While at the station we got to be on the news and we got to see what the different types of jobs were behind the scenes. We got to speak with sports anchor Sam Crenshaw and the operations manager Kevin Johnson who told us in order to get a job we had to always be on time. Being late at a tv studio means that we can't watch tv at home. He said being on time is important because if we are late we will get left behind and life is too short for a slow start. His advice meant a lot to me and I know an important part to getting a great job and being successful is being on time in everything I do. I'm grateful to Raising Expectations for setting up this fieldtrip and helping me learn some important things about future jobs.

Takelia Nicole Martin
8Th Grade, Kennedy Middle School

Fun and Excitement (Cirque du Soleil)

Have you ever been to a show that leaves you speechless? Well, I really think you should go and see the Cirque du Soleil. It's a French word that means "fun" and "excitement" My Raising Expectations group took me to see it and I was so stunned by the acrobats. The whole show was fun and magnificent. I have never seen acrobats this close up in my life. All of the characters were very creative. Everyone from my group enjoyed the show. There was so much color. The costumes were very pretty as well. I liked the part where they were doing really high flips off of the trampoline. I think it was a blessing that Raising Expectations received those tickets. I would love to go and shake the directors hand because he put together a great show! I haven't seen any type of circus that puts on more action than the Cirque du Soleil.

Mykia, 7th Grade