The Student at Promise

The At Promise Child 1

Running head: THE AT PROMISE CHILD

The At Promise Child: An Alternative Paradigm

Timothy S. Stuart

tstuart@atpromise.com

Seattle Pacific University

The At Promise Child 2

The At Promise Child

Ninety percent of America's youth belong to one or more official "at-risk"

category. These include, but are not limited to, children living in poverty, minority

children, immigrant and bilingual children, children with disabilities and latchkey

children. Nine-out-of-ten kids on every playground in America, and 90 out of 100 teens

in every school cafeteria are at risk, in some way, today (Ornstein and Hunkins, 1998).

Very few families are unaffected by these statistics, and even fewer families are exempt

from concern.

The "At Risk" Label

While there are many popular arguments for labeling children "at-risk", most of

them benefit researchers, institutions, advocacy groups and policy makers rather than

children. (Banks and Banks, 2001) At its best, labeling surrounds children with advocates

in well-funded programs. At its worst, it abandons children to a future of likely failure

and anticipated defeat. The "at risk' label tells children that they are more likely to fail

than other children. It teaches them to keep their eyes on the cracks so that they don't fall

through them. Labeling encourages educators and parents to act against their deepest

desires for children's success by guarding and lowering expectations of them. As a result

of negative labeling, schools have become fixated on the very deficits they hope to

eliminate.

Origins of the term "At Promise"

For several decades the term "at risk" has become a part of the vernacular when

speaking about children. In fact, between 1989 and 1995 "over 2,500 articles and

conference papers have focused on this topic and a growing number of state and national

The At Promise Child 3

reports and schools districts and state committees have made recommendations for

addressing this crisis" (Swadener and Lubeck, 1995, p.1). The "at risk" vocabulary is

harmful and does not accurately reflect the complete picture. The time has come to

expand this vocabulary. Children must be freed from the bondage of the "at risk" label

and given the opportunity to experience the freedom of a new identity: the "At Promise"

identity.

The term "at promise" was coined in 1991 by Dr. Beth Blue