Success Stories
Life Support
It was during Precious Oliver’s sixth grade year, punctuated by periods of skipped school, classroom disruptions and altercations with teachers, that she came into contact with Communities In Schools of the Charleston Area (CIS-Charleston). Before entering a CIS-Charleston grief group with other young people who had lost close relatives, Precious was, in her own words, “one referral away from expulsion.” Today, she’s one step away from a college scholarship.
Precious was born in Harlem, New York, but all she has known is rural Wadmalaw Island, South Carolina. At the age of four months, Precious was taken in by her grandfather and step-grandmother after her mother was killed in New York. She has never met her father. Today she is a 16-year-old sophomore at St. John’s High School, located about 30 minutes from Charleston.
The youngest of four children, Precious describes Wadmalaw as “quiet and kind of sleepy.” She loved her early years on the barrier island that is historically agrarian and once housed indigo and rice plantations. “I was a tomboy,” Precious recounts. “We’d get up early and go fishing, riding in the boat and other things.” Compared to neighbors, Precious’ grandfather was highly successful – he had started a concrete business and owned his home. However, when Precious was seven, her grandfather died. “Everything changed when he died,” she says.
Her step-grandmother also had been orphaned as a child and was raised by her grandmother. Now parent to her stepdaughter’s four children, she created a strict household with rigidity the children had not experienced. “When we moved here, my grandfather was loving to the point of spoiling us,” Precious recalls,” and I think my grandma was jealous of all the attention he gave us. She could be really mean.”
“I could see that Precious’ emotions from the loss of her grandfather were still very much on the surface,” says CIS-Charleston Student Support Specialist Aimee Lassor, reflecting on the sixth-grade grief group and Precious’ rocky start to middle school. Precious was sent to a nearby church school for seventh grade. “It was too small and I didn’t learn anything,” Precious recalls, “And I didn’t have anybody there for me like Ms. Lassor had been before.”
She returned to public school and began working with Lassor again. Through CIS-Charleston, Precious received counseling on pregnancy prevention and self-esteem, as well as tutoring and homework assistance. The eighth grade was a success, and, with the exception of a brief setback during the first quarter of high school, Precious has earned solid grades and received good conduct marks.
Precious’ life has not been easy. Two of her three older siblings did not complete high school. Her older sister has four children and was a teen parent, and one of her older brothers has had legal problems and trouble with alcohol and other drugs. Despite everything, Precious is determined to move forward. She hopes to enter a scientific field, and is currently leaning towards pharmacology.
On track for merit honor roll recognition, Precious recently tasted the reward of her steady efforts. At a recent CIS-Charleston meeting, Precious spoke about how CIS support through individual and group life-skills sessions has affected her. “I have learned a lot about myself and about life because of CIS-Charleston. Ms. Lassor makes sense and stays on our cases – even when we don’t want her to,” Precious said with a smile. At the conclusion of the meeting, two women representing a local college approached Precious. After a brief conversation, Precious recalls thinking, “Did they say what I think they said?” Precious indeed had been offered a full college scholarship upon graduation.
Hoping eventually to live in Atlanta, Precious does not forget what has led to her success.
"I don’t think only about the future and going to school. I think about it all: my mother, nearly being kicked out of school, talking with Ms. Lassor every day, and making my dreams come true.”
June 2007
