Tierney helps Lynn teen program

LYNN – My Turn, the teenage education and workforce training program at 170 Union St., received a much-needed technological boost Friday when the Social Security Administration donated several desktop computers, printers and a laptop.”Having computers in the classroom opens up a whole new world of learning,” said Geoffrey Boyd, the lead instructor at My Turn in Lynn. “Our students know what it’s like to fall behind in school. They’ve already been there. But with these computers, they won’t have to catch up.”U.S. Rep. John F. Tierney, a Salem Democrat and ranking member of the House Committee on Education and Labor, coordinated the donation of computer equipment from the regional Social Security office to My Turn. “They approached my office and asked if we knew of any organizations that might benefit from this equipment, and we pointed them toward My Turn,” Tierney said. “It’s a great fit.”Kurt Czarnowski, regional communications director for the Social Security Administration, witnessed the My Turn program first-hand and offered to provide the organization with additional computers.”With more computers, we could set up a lab,” said Boyd. “With one computer for every student, we could use them for research and for the purposes they were intended. We could use them as an information highway.”The equipment already delivered will also help the My Turn administrative staff, enabling them to write reports, keep records and make Power Point presentations on a projector.Alyse Tennermann, the My Turn case manager, said the Lynn program currently serves about 25 students, teenagers who otherwise might remain school dropouts. Overall, My Turn has 18 offices spread across Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island. The Salem-based North Shore Workforce Investment Board funds much of the Lynn program.In a show of appreciation, many of the My Turn students attended the informal presentation ceremony and shared their personal stories with the congressman and Social Security representatives.”I was young and lazy. I stopped school in the tenth grade,” said Eddie Wallace, 19, currently working toward a high school equivalency diploma or GED. “I regretted dropping out, but I met the good people here and now I’m back.”MoneyChenda So, another Lynn teenager, said she, too, dropped out of school for lack of interest. “I was never in school anyway,” said So, who enrolled at My Turn in January 2007, obtained her GED and is preparing to enter college. “Now I’m trying to come back around.”Linda Keo, 17, considered a My Turn success story, said her teachers at Lynn Tech simply couldn’t wait for her to catch up. “With so many students, they had to keep going,” she said. “But for me, if I don’t understand something, what’s the point of keeping going? It’s different here. I don’t have to go on until I understand what I’m doing.”Denisa Cepeda acknowledged she “got caught up in the streets” and didn’t care much for school. “My mother advised me to go back. She had heard about this program. Here the teaching is 1-on-1, and that’s something you just don’t get in school.”According to Cepeda, she has been able to grasp complex mathematics since enrolling at My Turn, something she simply couldn’t do previously. Many of the students look to Boyd for guidance and academics.”I try to imagine myself being a student,” said Boyd. “I laugh a lot. I like to have fun, but we also take things seriously.”Boyd recently bought a chef’s apron at K-Mart and wore it to class. “I like to cook, so we are working on soufflé essays,” he said. “I don’t just stand in front of the classroom all the time. I move around.”At My Turn, Inc., most students who have dropped out of high school are enrolled in the GED program. Others who are at risk of dropping out are steered toward the organization’s School To Work program, tailored for those in grades 9 to 12 who lack direction, have little or no guidance, speak English as a second language, and very likely are in foster care or homeless.A