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Calvinika Johnson
Sixth-grader Calvinika Johnson lives in a crowded home in a crime-ridden neighborhood in Kenner, Louisiana, which she shares with her mother and two younger brothers, as well as her aunt and her four cousins who were left homeless by Hurricane Katrina. Taller and larger than most of the other children her age, Calvinika was often teased and used to strike out in anger by fighting at school.
Calvinika is doing better at controlling her behavior and she attributes much of the improvement to her involvement with the CDF Freedom Schools® program. Instead of turning to violence, she now turns to books for comfort—two in particular, The Skin I'm In, authored by Sharon Flake and The Way a Door Closes, a book of poems by Hope Anita Smith.
The CDF Freedom Schools program has strengthened her passion for reading and it's showing in the classroom. Before participating in the after-school enrichment program her grades were Cs and Ds, but she is now an honor roll student and has exhibited significant advancement in her reading comprehension and literary skills. She has even begun writing poems of her own.
Calvinika aspires to go to college and hopes that one day her poetry will positively influence young people.
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