I rise today to speak about a new and successful program for at-risk youth in St. Louis, the Innovative Concept Academy and about it’s about my friend, Judge Jimmy Edwards.
Before I talk about the school and the incredible work Judge Edwards has done in the St. Louis community, I would like to spend a minute talking about his childhood roots. Judge Edwards grew up on the north side of St. Louis in the shadows of the city’s Pruitt–Igoe Public Housing Complex. The residents of this housing project faced many challenges, including drug and gang activity, violence and sometimes acute poverty.
But through discipline, hard work and determination, Judge Edwards rose above these circumstances. He earned both his bachelor’s and law degree from St. Louis University before being appointed to the state bench in 1992, and for four years he has served as the Chief Judge of the St. Louis Family Courts Juvenile Division.
During his service on the bench, Judge Edwards became increasingly concerned by the number of young, repeat offenders coming into his courtroom time and time again, only to be sent back to the same troubled environment that negatively influenced their behavior in the first place. From his own experience, he knew that offering these kids the opportunity for a proper education and for mentoring was absolutely critical to breaking the cycle.
In 2009, Judge Edwards, together with the St. Louis Public School district, the family court juvenile division and the nonprofit organization MERS Goodwill Industries, founded Innovative Concept Academy, a unique educational opportunity for juveniles who had already been expelled from the city’s public schools or who were on parole. These young people, who many would have given up on, found a formidable advocate in Judge Edwards and the Academy. From the beginning, Innovative Concept Academy has been devoted to helping at-risk youth achieve success through education, rehabilitation and mentorship.
Its mission, to enrich the learning environment for some of our most troubled kids, has resulted in second chances for these young men and women to dramatically improve their lives. At the start, Judge Edwards planned on providing educational and mentoring to 30 kids who had been suspended or expelled due to Missouri Safe Schools Act. When he asked the St. Louis Public Schools for a building to use for the program for 30 students, they asked him if he wouldn’t mind taking on the responsibility of 200 more. This was a challenge, and he accepted with his usual enthusiasm and can-do attitude. During the first year of his existence, the academy saw 246 students move through its doors. Today the academy teaches at-risk youth between ages 10-18 and has an enrollment of over 375.
Some of these students are visiting our nation’s capital this week with Judge Edwards, his wife Stacy, his daughter Ashley and his son John, along with chaperones. Here with us today along with Judge Edwards and his family and chaperones are the students Angel Tharpe, Deyon Smith, Tyrell Williams, and Nadia Jones. These are young men and women who have turned their lives around with the help of Judge Edwards and the Academy, and who serve as an inspiration to others in the community and frankly an inspiration to me.
I am so proud of what they have been able to accomplish. The Innovative Concept Academy provides these students and many like them with so many important services. A quality education in a safe environment, one-on-one mentoring with school staff, counselors, deputy juvenile officers and police. An array of extra-curricular and after-school activities, many of which are often new experiences for these students, including golf, chess, dance, classical music and creative writing. Uniforms, meals and so many other necessities are also provided, and with tough love and important lessons about discipline, respect, anger management, goal setting and follow-through.
All of this allows the students to meet their full potential and St. Louis has seen positive results already. The academy has an attendance rate of over 90 percent. Let me repeat that. The academy has an amazing attendance rate of over 90 percent, and we are seeing significant improvement in these young people’s grades. And the students are responding positively. For example, at the end of the first semester at the academy, the suspensions of 40 of the students ended and the students were supposed to return to their home school. Almost every student asked if they could stay at the Academy, because they knew that the Academy is a special place where they can improve their lives.
The innovative program has also garnered national attention. Judge Edwards has appeared as a guest on a number of major network shows and most recently was honored by People Magazine as one of its 2011 Heroes of the Year. But for him, it’s not about the magazines; it’s not about the interviews. For him, it’s still about the kids.
I’m proud that Judge Edwards hails from my home state of Missouri and from my hometown of St. Louis. His compassion for those who society may have given up on his common sense and innovative approach to solving the problems facing some of our young men and women are inspirational. He is compelled by his duty to serve and lift up the next generation no matter what the circumstances. He said it best when he observed “if the community – and that includes Judges – does not take it upon itself to educate the children, then our community and what we stand for will be no more.” This notion that we can all succeed when we work together with a common cause and unified purpose is central to our American identity.
I ask my distinguished colleagues to join me in congratulating the Innovative Concept Academy and Judge Jimmy Edwards. The success of the academy and Judge Edwards’ dedication and service to the St. Louis community should be an inspiration for everyone serving in this chamber. If we could have a little bit of Judge Jimmy Edwards’ attitude about working together, not worrying about taking the credit, and a can-do attitude, it is amazing what we could accomplish on behalf of the American people.
Edited from remarks made on the floor of the U.S. Senate on March 7.
