On Thanksgiving, people count their good fortune for many things—small and big. You snagged the last package of fresh sage for your stuffing. The lump proved benign. Your family will make it through the blizzard and be together feasting on turkey and all the scrumptious side dishes.

Kathy has a different reason to be thankful. But let her tell it.

This story doesn’t start out with the warm and fuzzies. It starts with pain, tears, anger, worry, and frustration. It starts with a mom and a daughter on opposite sides of a deep chasm. I was convinced we’d never reach each other, and frankly, I was already giving up. I was in a place of pain. And whenever pain takes up residence in your heart, you carry it like a curse. I couldn’t figure out how we got so far apart, so fast. I felt as if I were screaming into a void.

The MST program was first suggested to me by my daughter’s middle-school counselor, but I was sure it was a lot of hype and would be of very little help. There was nothing they could tell me to do that I hadn’t already tried. How were these people going to make anything happen? And if they thought they were going criticize me, if they thought they were going to judge me, they had another thing coming. No one was going to tell me I was a bad parent. And that was that.

Meanwhile, that chasm was growing wider and wider. My daughter seemed so unreachable. It was as if I had never known her. It was heartbreaking, devastating, and hopeless. I was losing myself in the absolute sadness of it all. I cannot describe the ache that was centered in my chest. Sleepless nights. The nights I did sleep, I had nightmares. My daughter was lost in the darkness and cried for me. Me searching for her, trying to find her, waking up with tears on my cheeks. I felt like a failure as a mother. That is a gut-wrenching battle that never gets easier.

Recently, New York City newspapers published articles raising awareness regarding violent incidents at Rikers Island.   

For those not familiar with New York, Rikers Island is the city’s main jail complex, a 413.17-acre island located in the East River between Queens and the Bronx. If you fly into LaGuardia Airport, you will see the razor wire-surrounded island located only a short swim from the runway. Adult and youth offenders reside on this island dedicated exclusively to incarceration. 

While the news articles bring up significant concerns, the incidents of violence are not new. As one might expect, the occupants are not there because they are model citizens. A wide range of law infractions and violations can earn a trip to Rikers. The constitutionality of sending youth offenders there has been questioned, especially considering that "most of whom have not yet been convicted of a crime, and about half of whom have been diagnosed with a mental illness," according to Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara.  

Once there, safety is not assured. There are rival gangs looking to start a fight. Forty percent of the population has been diagnosed with mental problems. The staff response to violent inmates has resulted in frequent injuries and sometimes death.

If it weren't in the Washington Post, you might not believe it. For the school year (SY) 2012-2013, 180 DC students in pre-kindergarten were suspended. Pre-kindergarten, kids aged 30 months to 5 years. And what could they possibly have done to merit being kicked out of class? Try tantrums, vulgarity and yes, bathroom accidents.

An Independent council member in the District of Columbia, David Grosso wants to put an end to this "ridiculous policy" and has introduced legislation to ban the suspension and expulsion of pre-kindergarten children in the District of Columbia. In addition to legislation, here's a better way to manage children in the classroom.

My youngest nephew, Dylan, started kindergarten in SY 2013-2014. After his first few days of school, he told my husband Bill and me about kindergarten and explained some of the classroom behavior management strategies. “If you do something good, you get a Popsicle stick. After you get 10 Popsicle sticks, you can trade them in for a prize.  Guess what one of the prizes is? You can take off your shoes in the classroom!” When Bill asked, “Is that what you’re saving your sticks for?” Dylan answered with a “Yes!” that was pure enthusiasm. 

What do you do when your 16-year-old is disrespectful, aggressive, drinks, disregards curfews, and hangs around with peers who are bad influences? In other words, his life is in a downward spiral toward prison.  (The first names were changed to protect the family's privacy.)

Pablo’s mother, Maria, didn’t have the answer. The Hispanic family living in rural South Carolina had always been close-knit. But since her husband left and her fiancé moved in, Pablo’s behavior had deteriorated.

After a particularly volatile incident, the boy had to be removed from the home. 

In 2010, the state of Kentucky had 852 youths in confinement, a rate of 186 per 100,000. While this number may not seem very large, David Keene, a former president of the National Rifle Association, a former chairman of the American Conservative Union and a Right on Crime signatory, appropriately gasped at the cost of $87,000 a year per youth which, using these numbers, equates to $74,124,000 a year. Read Keene's OpEd here. More concerning than just the money is the mounds of data demonstrating that the result of this expense is likely to be increased recidivism and expanding costs.

Hello, world. Here at Leicester MST we wanted everyone to know about our first year in service as an MST team, whilst having constant attention from the world media (well not us exactly).