My friend, Paul White

A front page article appeared today in the Los Angeles Daily News. It's about Dantae Livingston, a gang member who has renounced his gang ties and is finally on a track toward finishing high school and hopes to be going to college. After being kicked out of the last three high schools he's attended, he had the great fortune to be sent to West Valley Leadership Academy, a public county school run by my friend, Paul White.

Dantae joined a gang at age 12 after seeing his older brother gunned down by rival gang members. And when Paul offers to help Dantae leave the gang, Paul puts his own life on the line. A wonderful story of courage and commitment. Here's the link (be sure to watch the short video too): Click here to go to the article.

I recently went to a graduation at WVLA. It's a small school and each student has a separate graduation ceremony. The girl graduating had been addicted to crystal meth when her parents and brother called the police in desparation and had her arrested. That led, eventually, to her being enrolled in WVLA where she dropped her addiction, received straight A's, enrolled in college classes, and is the top seller at a local retail store.



When Paul's book was being printed, he was looking for endorsements so I asked Jack if he would consider reading it and writing something up for the jacket. I am so thankful that he did, and the book is now published. Here's the link to Amazon:
Click here to go to the Amazon link.