By ANA RISANO
Staff Writer
A local nonprofit that helps at-risk youth and low-literacy adults plans to restart a program that provides support for suspended Moore County Schools students.
The Suspension Diversion Program is set up as an alternative option for students rather than sending them home, giving them a chance to stay on track with school and learn self-regulation skills. The program previously operated for two school years between 2021 and 2023 before stopping due to a lack of funding. It is run by the CARE Group Inc., which was established in early 2021 as a result of a merger between Moore Buddies Mentoring and the Moore County Literacy Council.
“Our goal at Moore Buddies is to keep kids in school and help them graduate so they have a greater chance of a more successful life,” nonprofit Executive Director Joyce Clevenger said.
“And when a kid is suspended, it puts them further behind in their classwork, and they’re usually kids who are already behind and not good students. (The suspension) puts them in a position to stay behind, never catch up, and eventually fail or drop out.”
The program serves as a step to intervene in what may become a downward spiral for a child and lift them up. Clevenger walked through the program step-by-step, starting with the moment a student is suspended.
First, the school calls the child’s guardian to share what’s happened and inform them the child can go home for the allotted suspension time or work with the CARE Group. If chosen, the nonprofit will acquire the student’s schoolwork and provide transportation for the child each day to the CARE Group’s office. There, they will work with a tutor on their assignments, eat a provided lunch and walk through social and emotional skill-building activities with a licensed behavioral specialist.
“We always have positive responses from the children,” Clevenger said. “When we did this last time, I had a girl who asked me if she could have a copy of the book we were using. She said, ‘I think this book can help me.’ And I gave her a copy, and the schoolteacher called me the next week and said, ‘What is this book she keeps talking about?’”
The book is “Power Source: Taking Charge of Your Life,” by Bethany and Robin Casarjian. It’s written at a fifth-grade reading level and provides strategies for youth dealing with a variety of experiences.
As to why the program is starting again, Clevenger said several school staff asked the nonprofit to bring it back because of its previous success with students. The CARE Group is working now with the school system to get it re-established.
“Even if it doesn’t completely change a child’s life, it gives them a safe place to go instead of being home, hanging out with the wrong people, getting into trouble,” Clevenger said. “It keeps them safe, it gives them something nourishing to eat, and it keeps them current in their schools. So if that’s all we do, that’s better than the alternative.”
Staff at Moore County Schools Central Office were unable to respond to specific questions about the program by The Pilot’s deadline, but Director of Communications Charles Batchelor acknowledged it as a positive for the school system.
“Moore County Schools is always open to meeting with external organizations interested in exploring opportunities that serve the best interests of our students, families and employees,” said Batchelor. “We know that in the past, The CARE Group’s alternative to suspension program was very beneficial, and we look forward to discussing a potential future partnership with them.”
He also shared discipline data for the school system for recent years. For the 2024-2025 school year, there were 8,361 office referrals, 3,441 in-school suspensions, 1,465 out-of-school suspensions and 201 bus suspensions. The data includes students referred or suspended for a variety of offenses, like fighting, inappropriate or aggressive behavior, disrespect of faculty and bus misbehavior.
Those numbers were similar to the year prior but with fewer suspensions. The 2023-2024 school year had 8,182 office referrals, 3,781 in-school suspensions, 1,505 out-of-school suspensions and 269 bus suspensions.
For the 2022-2023 school year, the data showed fewer referrals and suspensions except for the bus suspensions: 6,876 office referrals, 2,908 in-school suspensions, 1,433 out-of-school suspensions and 273 bus suspensions.
Clevenger shared one story of a group of students who repeatedly got in trouble at Crain’s Creek Middle School. After participating in the program, the children were no longer suspended.
“We had these six girls who repeatedly got suspended, and we matched them one-on-one with mentors and put them in the mentoring program, and we never had any more problems with them,” she said. “Most of the time, kids don’t come back. Once they know it’s not a vacation and they have to come to us and do the schoolwork, they’re more apt to.”
The nonprofit also helped set up clubs at a few Moore County Schools aimed to boost self esteem.
“(The girls) were fighting their best friends. It was crazy. I got talking to them one day about why they couldn’t walk away from a fight — why they felt compelled to get physical with one another — and decided these girls really needed some healthy self-esteem,” Clevenger said. “And so we started some self-esteem groups at the middle schools as a kind of preventive measure for those kids that were at risk for behavior problems and getting suspended.”
The nonprofit has limited funding for the program, so it plans to work with a handful of schools at first. Clevenger said they plan to finalize which schools in the coming days.
The CARE Group received about $17,000 from the United Way of Moore County. Clevenger said it’s about roughly half of what they need but enough to get started. The nonprofit plans to apply for additional grants throughout the year and expand the program.
To learn more about the CARE Group or donate, visit www.thecaregroupinc.org.
Contact Ana Risano at (910) 585-6396 or ana@thepilot.com.
Nonprofit to Restart Suspension Diversion Program
By ANA RISANO
Staff Writer
A local nonprofit that helps at-risk youth and low-literacy adults plans to restart a program that provides support for suspended Moore County Schools students.
The Suspension Diversion Program is set up as an alternative option for students rather than sending them home, giving them a chance to stay on track with school and learn self-regulation skills. The program previously operated for two school years between 2021 and 2023 before stopping due to a lack of funding. It is run by the CARE Group Inc., which was established in early 2021 as a result of a merger between Moore Buddies Mentoring and the Moore County Literacy Council.
“Our goal at Moore Buddies is to keep kids in school and help them graduate so they have a greater chance of a more successful life,” nonprofit Executive Director Joyce Clevenger said.
“And when a kid is suspended, it puts them further behind in their classwork, and they’re usually kids who are already behind and not good students. (The suspension) puts them in a position to stay behind, never catch up, and eventually fail or drop out.”
The program serves as a step to intervene in what may become a downward spiral for a child and lift them up. Clevenger walked through the program step-by-step, starting with the moment a student is suspended.
First, the school calls the child’s guardian to share what’s happened and inform them the child can go home for the allotted suspension time or work with the CARE Group. If chosen, the nonprofit will acquire the student’s schoolwork and provide transportation for the child each day to the CARE Group’s office. There, they will work with a tutor on their assignments, eat a provided lunch and walk through social and emotional skill-building activities with a licensed behavioral specialist.
“We always have positive responses from the children,” Clevenger said. “When we did this last time, I had a girl who asked me if she could have a copy of the book we were using. She said, ‘I think this book can help me.’ And I gave her a copy, and the schoolteacher called me the next week and said, ‘What is this book she keeps talking about?’”
The book is “Power Source: Taking Charge of Your Life,” by Bethany and Robin Casarjian. It’s written at a fifth-grade reading level and provides strategies for youth dealing with a variety of experiences.
As to why the program is starting again, Clevenger said several school staff asked the nonprofit to bring it back because of its previous success with students. The CARE Group is working now with the school system to get it re-established.
“Even if it doesn’t completely change a child’s life, it gives them a safe place to go instead of being home, hanging out with the wrong people, getting into trouble,” Clevenger said. “It keeps them safe, it gives them something nourishing to eat, and it keeps them current in their schools. So if that’s all we do, that’s better than the alternative.”
Staff at Moore County Schools Central Office were unable to respond to specific questions about the program by The Pilot’s deadline, but Director of Communications Charles Batchelor acknowledged it as a positive for the school system.
“Moore County Schools is always open to meeting with external organizations interested in exploring opportunities that serve the best interests of our students, families and employees,” said Batchelor. “We know that in the past, The CARE Group’s alternative to suspension program was very beneficial, and we look forward to discussing a potential future partnership with them.”
He also shared discipline data for the school system for recent years. For the 2024-2025 school year, there were 8,361 office referrals, 3,441 in-school suspensions, 1,465 out-of-school suspensions and 201 bus suspensions. The data includes students referred or suspended for a variety of offenses, like fighting, inappropriate or aggressive behavior, disrespect of faculty and bus misbehavior.
Those numbers were similar to the year prior but with fewer suspensions. The 2023-2024 school year had 8,182 office referrals, 3,781 in-school suspensions, 1,505 out-of-school suspensions and 269 bus suspensions.
For the 2022-2023 school year, the data showed fewer referrals and suspensions except for the bus suspensions: 6,876 office referrals, 2,908 in-school suspensions, 1,433 out-of-school suspensions and 273 bus suspensions.
Clevenger shared one story of a group of students who repeatedly got in trouble at Crain’s Creek Middle School. After participating in the program, the children were no longer suspended.
“We had these six girls who repeatedly got suspended, and we matched them one-on-one with mentors and put them in the mentoring program, and we never had any more problems with them,” she said. “Most of the time, kids don’t come back. Once they know it’s not a vacation and they have to come to us and do the schoolwork, they’re more apt to.”
The nonprofit also helped set up clubs at a few Moore County Schools aimed to boost self esteem.
“(The girls) were fighting their best friends. It was crazy. I got talking to them one day about why they couldn’t walk away from a fight — why they felt compelled to get physical with one another — and decided these girls really needed some healthy self-esteem,” Clevenger said. “And so we started some self-esteem groups at the middle schools as a kind of preventive measure for those kids that were at risk for behavior problems and getting suspended.”
The nonprofit has limited funding for the program, so it plans to work with a handful of schools at first. Clevenger said they plan to finalize which schools in the coming days.
The CARE Group received about $17,000 from the United Way of Moore County. Clevenger said it’s about roughly half of what they need but enough to get started. The nonprofit plans to apply for additional grants throughout the year and expand the program.
To learn more about the CARE Group or donate, visit www.thecaregroupinc.org.
Contact Ana Risano at (910) 585-6396 or ana@thepilot.com.
