PEP Phoenix Student Featured in Statewide News Story
On Monday June 13, Spectrum News Channel 1 ran a story as part of its “Building Resilient Communities” series that featured a student from Positive Education Program. Omar El Sabe, a PEP Phoenix student in eighth grade who is in the process of transitioning back to his public school, talked to reporter Brian Calfano about trauma and how he overcame it at PEP.
Omar had made a lot of mistakes before he came to PEP and was very disappointed in himself. His self-esteem was very low. “I thought there was no point. No point in doing anything,” he said of his mindset when he first started attending PEP Phoenix. “If my reputation was done for, then I might as well say the book ended there.”
Calfano explained that for Omar the trauma-informed approach at PEP helped him gain the resilience to push back negative thoughts. Today, thanks to his hard work and the hard work of his teacher-counselors, Omar is enjoying a new-found confidence and eagerly preparing to transition back to public school.