My name is Jaleel Brown and I'm a Middle School Social Studies Teacher! Across the nation, there is a trend of our young boys not doing well in the academic field and even not attending college as much. Yet every day I see brilliant young boys with big dreams and goals, so it made me ask myself: where's the disconnect? I've realized that a major issue is that the goals of many young boys are often tied to sports and entertainment, which leads them to believe education is not a major component of success. It's not that they lack the intelligence or the ability to achieve academically; they just don't see the significance.

So, I'm launching a project to redefine success and expand the perception of the young boys in my school. There will be multiple programs as part of this initiative. Thurgood Thursdays will be a monthly dress-for-success day that will double as an event where successful people from around the neighborhood will come into the school to speak to students about the different ways success can look in real life. The second program, Perception Posters, will be a series of inspirational posters hung around the school to show students images of successful people throughout history and today with a quote of theirs that is tied to education. Lastly, our End-Of-Year Celebration will honor those students who have strived to improve their reading scores and made progress since the previous year.

If you believe in our young boys and would like to help me push them to believe in themselves the same way and redefine what they see as success, please donate to our Boys Reading Initiative.