Strawberry Mansion High School had been among the roughest in the country. Of the student body, 96 percent live in poverty.
The school, and its unbelievably positive Principal Linda Cliatt-Wayman, was featured on a Diane Sawyer television special called "Hidden America." It showed how just one parent came to parent-teacher conferences. For the whole school.
It showed the frequent fights in the lunchroom. It showed Cliatt-Wayman trying to give the students hope by telling them over the loudspeaker each day that she loves the kids -- even if they won't hear it from anybody else in their lives.
The popular rapper Drake was so moved by the special that he promised to build a recording studio there, according to this article from Forbes. Read more about this story at PBJ.com
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