Join us for breakfast with D.J. Batiste. D.J. knows well the challenges faced by many of our children. Born to a 14-year-old mother and 16-year-old father, he was raised by his grandmother in Picayune, Mississippi. Involved with gangs and drugs, he had little interest in school, was suspended countless times and banished to alternative schools. His future looked bleak. Until he met Mrs. Porter.
D.J. tells the story of the teacher who, in his senior year of high school, turned his life around. Mrs. Donna Porter, who had been trained in Conscious Discipline, “tricked him,” he says, “by responding with attention in positive ways rather than through punishment.” He graduated from high school in 2010, walking arm-in-arm to the ceremony with Mrs. Porter. Since then, he's worked with Mrs. Porter training other teachers and become a celebrated motivational speaker in his own right.
You'll be able to enjoy breakfast while listening to D.J. along with an question and answer session. You won't want to miss this powerful story on how we can build connections with children and adults.