Boulder Creek Academy
Bonners Ferry, ID

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Boulder Creek Academy
Student Has a Dream

In honor of the Martin Luther King holiday, Boulder Creek Academy English class students were tasked with creating an essay to honor the day. The following composition was written by a student. This heart-tugging essay exemplifies the importance of the work we do on behalf of our students at Boulder Creek Academy - helping them discover that their dreams can become a reality.

I am happy to join with you today to share what may be the most important thing I have ever written…

Fifty-three years ago, Martin Luther King, Jr. stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial to give a speech that helped Black people get their rights in America, but today there is one group of people who consistently suffer and nobody hears them because people think they are stupid: people with learning disabilities.

I have dyslexia, ADHD, double vision, and dysgraphia. School is hard, so I don't go to school, and I drink and do drugs so that I feel accepted by people.

I hate to be judged. I hate school. I hate work. I hate being made fun of.

I have a dream that I can get better at spelling. Almost every day, I feel embarrassed, texting people, writing letters, and writing for school. That's why I don't write letters.

I have a dream that I can read. I want to be able to try, but I'm scared to, so I don't. I beat myself up mentally.

I have a dream that I can work without getting made fun of. People call me stupid retard and mentally retarded.

I have a dream that I can do math. It's hard, and I don't really get it.

I have a dream that I can do good work without feeling stupid. I want to be proud of myself.

I have a dream that I can work with kids that are good at school. I just don't like to feel different.

I have a dream that I don't have to walk to a special class to get help. I feel judged every time I walk there.

I have a dream that I will feel normal.

Boulder Creek Academy has spent more than two-decades focused on meeting the unique needs of adolescents ages 13 to 18, whose needs aren't being met in a traditional school, rediscover their academic and social confidence. Boulder Creek Academy students are clinically complex and socially immature and are challenged with unevenly developed cognitive skills, self-regulation issues, and struggle with forming relationships. The academy features a state-approved special education program, therapeutic learning, academic remediation, a therapeutic animal program, and socialization skill building. The campus is situated on 180-acres at the base of the Cabinet Mountains in northern Idaho. Students are accepted for enrollment year-round.