A year ago kids at school were afraid to even look in Krenshaw Avila’s direction.
If they did, Krenshaw was liable to get in their face. She’d ask, with a snap of her head and a menacing look, “You’ve got a problem?”
Word around West Middle School in Aurora was that you don’t mess with Krenshaw, a girl named for the Crenshaw District of South Central Los Angeles, a place synonymous with the Crips and Bloods.
One time in school, a girl pushed one of Krenshaw’s friends. The friend told Krenshaw, “I want to see her eat paper.” So Krenshaw balled a piece of notepaper, grabbed the girl and shoved it into the girl’s mouth.
“I was always getting into trouble,” Krenshaw says. “I was sent to the office at least three times a week.”
That was before school administrators took a holistic approach to her problem. She was placed in anger-management classes where she learned how to recognize her anger and defensiveness and control her reaction.
An assistant principal, Denise Cordova, became her mentor in a program called HEART, an acronym for Helping Every at-Risk Teen.
But the biggest change in Krenshaw came after she enrolled in a ski program that takes her and 18 other at-risk kids to Vail nearly every Sunday during ski season.
On skis, navigating down a mountain, Krenshaw is no longer a tough girl. She sings aloud. She giggles. She laughs with her instructor, Wendy Hargreaves, a woman who teaches these students at a reduced fee, passing up opportunities to make more money giving private lessons. Krenshaw loves her.
At one point during a recent outing Krenshaw fell, and she remained sprawled on the mountainside, flapping her arms and legs to make a snow angel.
The day I traveled with the kids, Cordova and other chaperones, I got to know Krenshaw. She’s like most other 14-year- olds: She is playful, curious, and has boundless energy.
But the day started a bit too early. At 6:30 a.m. she arrived at the school parking lot in red, pink and white-striped pajama pants and a fleece blanket emblazoned with the face of a cheetah. She said hi to her friends, Jose Estrella, Eric Dominguez and Carrigain Scadden. Then she curled herself into a pair of seats and fell asleep.
When we arrived in Vail, she was all energy. She got suited up and couldn’t wait to get on the lift.
Vail Resorts donates equipment and lift tickets for the students in the program. The school raises money to pay for the instructors, two vans that transport the students, and lunch. Gilda Kaplan, a volunteer who lives in the Vail valley, donates time and money to the program. The school would expand the program if it had more donations.
Who knew skiing could turn at-risk students into students who care about doing well in school.
The purpose of the program, called Project Victory, is to keep at-risk students in school until they graduate. Students are required to keep at least a C average, maintain good attendance, and not get into trouble.
“Kids who are involved in school programs are more likely to feel connected and want to stay,” Cordova told me. She’s seen a dramatic change in Krenshaw.
Krenshaw sees it too and is happy she has shed her angry side. She wrote a note to Cordova a few weeks back. It said: “Without you on my case I would still be my old self and I want to thank you so much 4 being there 4 me.”
So far this school year, Krenshaw hasn’t gotten into any fights. A month ago she said a girl punched her in the head. Rather than strike back, Krenshaw took deep breaths and walked straight to the principal’s office to report it. Still learning to control her anger – and who wouldn’t be upset about getting hit in the head? – Krenshaw punched the wall.
She told her estranged dad – a former gang member who named her Krenshaw – about it and he called her a coward. Krenshaw shrugged it off. She now knows that fighting solves nothing.
“I’ve learned to become patient. Not everything is going to happen the way I want it to. But if I work at it, things can go the way I want,” Krenshaw told me.
For 14, she’s a wise girl. All along she had this potential. It just took support from caring adults to move her in a positive direction.
Cindy Rodríguez’s column appears Tuesdays and Sundays. Read Cindy’s blog at denverpostbloghouse.com/rodriguez
