The Rite of Passage school, located in San Andreas, is a school designed to offer programs and opportunities for troubled youth. From grade based curriculum, to counseling, to sports and skill development, the school promotes positive pathways in life.
To become a member of the Rams Club (the Ram is the school mascot), a youth must maintian a C or better GPA, show good behavior for a minimum of four months, show initiative in becoming a positive peer and be willing to participate in many community based events and work groups. Each member is evaluated regularily by teachers and staff for their performance in the above areas and must be voted in by existing members. One young man said, as he dug at a rock that was unwilling to move from the garden, "It is really a privledge to be a Ram."
According to Kyle, the counselor overseeing the community garden clean up, some of the young men participating in the garden prep work were also in the horticulture program at the school and had grown starters for the garden.
Kyle pointed at the mounds of rock in various piles along the outer walls of the garden saying that the first time these boys came "that was what they managed to pull from the garden." There were enough extra rocks to build a small wall around an area specifically for the local boy scout troop to learn about gardening.
These kids are quickly becoming a fixture in the public eye of Copperopolis. Participating in community pride day, cleaning trash from Hwy 4 all the way to the community garden along O'Byrnes Ferry Road, running in the Copperopolis Run and the Frog's Tooth Country Run, working in the community garden and more. If you see these young men helping out in our town, a hearty 'thank you' will go a long way.
For more information about the Rite of Passge visit http://www.riteofpassage.com/
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