From Closed to Open

Transitioning Back to Books

Photo by Sage Nenyue| VOX STAFFf

By Amber Middlebrooks/VOX Staff

When I started high school I was so happy. I was accepted into the magnet program at Frederick Douglass High School, the Center for Engineering and Applied Technology. I was meeting new friends from various places, getting to know my way around school. I was doing great until my junior year came when I almost lost it all messing around.

They say your junior year is your hardest. To me it was stupid. You have to take all these tests just to determine if you graduate. We took the first part of the Georgia High School Graduation Test in September of 2006, the writing part. I was so ready. Writing is my hobby so I knew I was going to ace the test. I more than passed the test with a 580.

Skipping as a Hobby
But when school was beginning to kick in, the classes started getting lame. They had me in all these boring magnet classes. (To tell you the truth, I only went to Douglass because I love their band, and the old principal Dr. Horton really cared about our academic interests.) So Ottoveo, my best friend, Trey (some tagalong that we didn’t know) and I would skip class. We would walk around the halls half of the day, never going to class after second period.

It was so easy to skip. We wrote fake passes, went in every lunch hour to see people, would go sit in the counselors’ suite and do nothing, and go to the library and make fake assignments. The school staff thought we were doing work when we were really using www.atunnel.com because Facebook and MySpace were blocked. I was like, “wow my school is very stupid.” I didn’t know what got into me, but whatever it was, I was enjoying the excitement.

Even though I was in the magnet program, I still didn’t care. My main reason for going to school used to be to get an education, but during my junior year my reasons changed: I was going to school because I was getting a free student MARTA card and to hang with my best friends. I had lost all my interest in school, seriously. I never thought about dropping out, but the classes and work were hard and boring. Every day I would leave, knowing that I wasn’t going to do any work.

Once we got our new principal, our school went down and the students didn’t care anymore. There was a fight almost every single day. I used to walk right by my classmates every day, and they would ask, “Amber, why you never come to class?”
I was like “screw you” or “I do come. I just be asleep and you don’t see me.”

My grades and GPA dropped. I still didn’t care a bit. I had enough credits, so I was fine—well, that’s what I thought. Most schools have cameras and I knew ours were working, and the excitement just to know we were on camera breaking the rules was fun. I would wave at the camera and blow it a kiss. I never once disrespected a teacher or an administrator. I knew I was better than that.

The new year came in, and I said I would stop skipping and go to my new classes. I did it for one week and I was like, “h**l no, this is the worst.” Ottoveo agreed. We would run in the hallways, be in the stairwells. Go to assemblies that we weren’t supposed to be in. It was so thrilling.

Around March I talked to my counselor at Douglass. She said that I wasn’t in the required classes to graduate, and all those classes that were on my transcript were pointless. So all my hard work from ninth grade till my junior year, half of it didn’t count. I was very pissed. They just threw us in classes that we didn’t need and said they were real classes. My counselor suggested that I go to Crim Open Campus. Since it’s a non-traditional school, I would get back on track easily. I ignored her and was like “whatever.”

Getting Kicked to the Curb
In April 2007 I received a letter saying I had to go to tribunal because I violated the student conduct code: I was chronically cutting class. I knew I was guilty, but I denied it to my mom. April 20 was my birthday. I went to all my classes that day because I wanted to collect birthday money from everyone. (I collected at least $100 from school.) On Saturday April 21, I received another paper from the student tribunal that said I was no longer a student at Frederick Douglass and that I was placed in Crim Open Campus. I didn’t even get to plead my case because in the first letter they said my meeting was in May, but now they said I was guilty. I was furious.

I got caught, but Ottoveo didn’t. (That still didn’t break up our friendship.) I wanted to know how this happened. I came to find out a teacher snitched on me, and that’s how I was in trouble. How could she smile in my face but snitch on me behind my back? I felt very belittled.

Well, I was out of school for the rest of the school year. Registration for Crim didn’t start till August and it was only April. To me it was an early summer break. Not going to school was exciting. (My mom was disappointed with me but she never punished me for getting kicked out.) I was so happy enjoying my life stress-free.

The Stereotypes are Wrong
I had heard stories about Crim Open Campus like: “That’s a horrible school, it’s for dropouts. They send students who don’t care there to catch up. You will never make it there.” I went along with the stereotypes. Just when my summer started to get good, reality hit, and I realized I was going to a bad school – well, that’s what I thought. Dang I messed up. Listen to the school name Crim Open Campus High School. It sounds like I am a horrible child, that I stay out all late and have kids. (No I don’t have kids at all, I am still a virgin.) That was going through my head. I am just a plain Jane that got caught up in some stuff.

August 2 arrived, and it was time for registration so I could go to Crim. After you register, you have to meet with the principal. I was like wow that’s a first. So we waited until she was ready—my mom, my program specialist for Create Your Dreams (an after-school program devoted to helping kids make their dreams reality), my brother and me. We went in and met with Dr. Cummings. We all sat down at her conference table, and she looked through my folder. I told her the reason I was here: “I know that I done wrong and I want to get back on track.” I explained that I wasn’t a troubled child, I was on the honor roll, in a magnet program and also involved in different activities such at VOX, Create Your Dreams and Big Brothers Big Sisters. I also shared that I have a passion for writing and photography.

Dr. Cummings was very nice and understanding. When it was her time to speak, she explained to us that Crim Open Campus High School is a school where you can get back on track to receive your high school diploma. They have day and night school combined in one. Day classes go from 8:15 a.m. until 3 p.m., and evening runs from 1:45 until 7 p.m. So when my fourth period starts, that’s when night school begins. She also explained that it is a zero-tolerance school. You miss five days, you are dropped from the roll of the class you missed, and if you have a lot of absences you are withdrawn. Basically it’s like college because it’s up to you: You are on your on—no more babying you. With that being said, she told me about the classes offered and said it wouldn’t be hard for me to pick up. After that we shook hands, and she welcomed me to Crim.

Adapting to My New Environment
August 13 was time for school to start. I was so nervous because this was a new environment for me, new people, new students. All the rumors I heard were still going through my mind. Walking around I saw a lot of people I thought had graduated and should be starting college, yet they were there. I also saw some people I hadn’t seen since middle school and elementary. I was like, “Wow I never thought I would see you again.”

A lot of people were like “Amber Middlebrooks why you here? I thought you were a good kid.”
I was like, “Yeah we make mistakes too.”

The school is not what I thought it was. I was lied to. My peers all come from different walks of life, but we all share similar goals. The teachers are understanding and willing to help. I enjoy it a lot. I am learning more than I was at Douglass. I think Crim is one of the best Atlanta Public Schools. A lot of outsiders just get caught up in the rumors. Please don’t judge Crim Open Campus High School if you never once stepped foot there. I wish I would have started there my freshman year because I would already be in college pursing my degree by now. (You can graduate in two years.)

I am happy that I messed up because now I am in a school that can really help me out. I feel like the honor student I really am. I never lost my honor status; it was there all along, and I just put it on hiatus. I even call myself a nerd because I pay attention in all my classes, ask a lot of questions, and do class work and homework assignments. It feels good to be back to the same Amber. I wake up every morning, thanking the creator for allowing me into Crim Open Campus.

Amber is enjoying Crim Open Campus and meeting a lot of new friends.