Jane Ellen Stevens

Troubled teens find haven at Walla Walla’s Lincoln High & its Health Center

I’m doing interviews for a story about Lincoln High School in Walla Walla, WA, where Principal Jim Sporleder has turned the idea of discipline upside down and inside out, with the result that suspensions are down by 85 percent, written referrals are cut in half, and expulsions by 40 percent. He and his staff have created a place where the community’s lost children — the kids whose parents have little or no ability to care for them — have found a home, and are thriving and happy.

One of the most important parts of the high school is The Health Center at Lincoln. It came about when local pediatrician Dr. Alison Kirby volunteered to do physical exams for Lincoln High’s first basketball team, and discovered that most of the players had not seen a doctor since they were 6 years old. When the center opened its doors, Kirby thought that the demand for services would be 90 percent physical health, 10 percent mental health. The opposite is true.

Tensegrity Productions tells the story about the students at Lincoln High School and their health center in this video. It’s 20 minutes long, but I hope it goes viral anyway.

After I interview a couple of students and Dr. Kirby, I’ll post the story.

12 comments

  10. What an awesome,empowering video! I love what is happening at Lincoln and look forward to learning how I might be able to help! Congratulations on being courageous!

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