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Cover Story

Cover Story - Spanish Version

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Comprehension Quiz

Teacher's Guide and Worksheets

Reading, Writing, Respect

Kathryn Satterfield

Roynell Young doesn't like to talk to his students about his past. "I was the one most likely to not succeed," he told TFK. He got into trouble in high school. He almost flunked out of college. But Young is not trying to hide those mistakes. It's his success as a pro football player that he keeps quiet about.

Young played for the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1980s. "Celebrity gets in the way of meaningful relationships," he says. He prefers to be known as Coach Roy, founder of the nonprofit group Pro-Vision. The group aims to help young men in the Sunnyside community of Houston, Texas. The area is plagued by violence and poverty.

Pro-Vision started as a pickup game of basketball with a bunch of kids in 1990. It has grown into an all-male public middle school, plus after-school and job-training programs. Over the years, more than 1,500 young men have sought help from Pro-Vision.

This month, Pro-Vision is scheduled to move from a tiny schoolhouse to a large new campus. There, students will have access to modern classrooms, a media center, an auditorium and a gym. Young plans to add a wing for high school students later.

Young and his team run a tight ship. They collect cell phones from the boys each morning. Students aren't allowed to carry more than $5. They can't wear jewelry other than a watch. They must say "ma'am" and "sir" when speaking to adults.

Juan Montemayor has been at the school for three years. The eighth grader says that at first, "I didn't think [the rules] were necessary." But he learned to like his tough-but-fair teachers. "They try to understand where you're coming from," Juan says. "I'm a better student."

The graduation rate in Houston is about 60%. Pro-Vision says 81% of its students go on to graduate from high school. Twenty-four percent go to college. The rest go right into the workforce. Young says that statistics aren't as important as the message Pro-Vision sends to troubled young men: "Stand up and walk in a way that enables you to live out your purpose, to develop your gifts."

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