Amistad High School's Jesus Perales has embraced the autodidactic philosophy of being a lifelong learner. He was part of our literacy program with renowned lawyer Jim Parkinson. Everyday after school he would stay with a small group of students, read classics from American literature (Catcher in the Rye, To Kill a Mockingbird, Fahrenheit 451) and would write paragraphs, giving real life application to what he was reading. He ended up scoring beyond grade level in reading on his one year anniversary of the program, 5 grades higher than before.
Jesus came to Amistad with 30 credits his sophomore year, with no chance of graduating from a traditional high school. At AHS, he has flourished and in the last 4 quarters received only 2Cs, while the rest are all A and B grades. He has joined ASB and is the voice in the school announcements, the friendly face in the student store, and now welcomes other students to our school as part of theri orientation program.
We are proud of the person he is becoming, but more than anything, we're looking forward to what he will bring as he pays it forward to others.
Submitted by: Principal Richard Pimentel