LINCOLN -- Deon Birkes, assistant principal of Lincoln High School, was poor growing up in Lincoln but he didn't know it.
Before the organization Bright Futures was around, Birkes said people, especially his parents, teachers and coaches in the Lincoln Consolidated School District, were there making sure he would have a bright future.
Birkes became emotional as he shared his life story and talked about the community's willingness to support its own.
"I look out here and I see my Bright Futures," Birkes said, speaking to 80-100 community leaders who attended a luncheon to kick off a new program in the school district called Bright Futures.
Bright Futures USA is a national organization, based in Joplin, Mo., that serves as a conduit to help schools meet the needs of their students by networking with civic groups, churches, parent groups, businesses and individuals within a community.
Prairie Grove School District joined Bright Futures last September and now Lincoln School District is a member of the organization. Prairie Grove Telephone Co., paid the one-time $2,500 membership fee for both Prairie Grove and Lincoln.
The goal of Bright Futures is to have every child's basic needs met so that he or she can achieve success. Bright Futures goes one step beyond that and has an objective to meet those needs within 24 hours.
Birkes gave examples of how staff at the school met his needs. His senior year his shoes blew out, with games still left to play in the season. He remembers telling his coach the shoes were his one pair for the year. The next day, he received a new pair
General News on 05/13/2015