Serving Young Marines with special needs
Retired Marine 1st Sgt. Vivian Price-Butler leads the nation's only Young Marines unit, at Kennedy Krieger High School in Baltimore, that is composed solely of students with special needs.
The Young Marines is an education and service program reaching 10,000 youths around the nation and overseas. Of its more than 300 units, only one is dedicated to students with special needs.
Founded in 1993, the Kennedy Krieger program serves 24 students at a high school for children who cannot be accommodated in traditional schools. Bob, a 16-year-old sophomore from New Windsor, has autism. Cornell, a 17-year-old junior from Glendale, has an intellectual disability. Other students have cerebral palsy, Down syndrome or brain injuries.
The Young Marines curriculum emphasizes character and service.
Cornell joined the Young Marines in sixth grade. Cornell has attained the rank of staff sergeant.
..., Price-Butler came to Kennedy Krieger in 2000. “I knew that I loved the Marine Corps, and I like empowering leaders. That’s what the first sergeant does. The first sergeant develops leaders.”
She teaches military terms in a game modeled on television’s “Jeopardy!” and military drills in an exercise akin to Simon Says.
Bob joined the group in the ninth grade. In December, he traveled across the globe with his first sergeant to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
“First Sergeant took five special-needs students on a plane to Hawaii, God bless her,” said Sharon Nobles, Bob’s mother.
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Retired Marine 1st Sgt. Vivian Price-Butler, at whiteboard, leads the nation's only Young Marines unit, at Kennedy Krieger High School in Baltimore, that is composed solely of students with special needs. photo 1 - Serving Young Marines with special needs
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Jeremy Hemmings, right, and Cornell Wright do push-ups after making the wrong movement in a drilling game during class in Baltimore. “I wanted to do something with my life,” Cornell says, “and I found’’ the Young Marines program. photo 2 - Serving Young Marines with special needs
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Retired Marine 1st Sgt. Vivian Price-Butler is known affectionately as First Sergeant around Kennedy Krieger High School in Baltimore. photo 3 - Serving Young Marines with special needs
Strengthening the lives of America's youth
Young Marine Creed
1. Obey my parents and all others in charge of me whether young or old.
2. Keep myself neat at all times without other people telling me to.
3. Keep myself clean in mind by attending the church of my faith.
4. Keep my mind alert to learn in school, at home, or at play.
5. Remember having self-discipline will enable me to control my body and mind in case of an emergency.
During the summer months, Young Marines have the opportunity to attend the Young Marines National Summer Programs of: Adventures, Challenges, Encampments, and Schools (SPACES).
The Young Marines is a youth education and service program for boys and girls, ages 8 through completion of high school. The Young Marines promotes the mental, moral, and physical development of its members. The program focuses on character building, leadership, and promotes a healthy, drug-free lifestyle. The Young Marines is the focal point for the U.S. Marine Corps' Youth Drug Demand Reduction efforts. Since the Young Marines' humble beginnings, in 1958, with one unit and a handful of boys, the organization has grown to over 300 units with 10,000 youth and 3,000 adult volunteers in 46 states, the District of Columbia, and Germany, Japan, and affiliates in a host of other countries.
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1. Obey my parents and all others in charge of me whether young or old.
2. Keep myself neat at all times without other people telling me to.
3. Keep myself clean in mind by attending the church of my faith.
4. Keep my mind alert to learn in school, at home, or at play.
5. Remember having self-discipline will enable me to control my body and mind in case of an emergency.
During the summer months, Young Marines have the opportunity to attend the Young Marines National Summer Programs of: Adventures, Challenges, Encampments, and Schools (SPACES).
The Young Marines is a youth education and service program for boys and girls, ages 8 through completion of high school. The Young Marines promotes the mental, moral, and physical development of its members. The program focuses on character building, leadership, and promotes a healthy, drug-free lifestyle. The Young Marines is the focal point for the U.S. Marine Corps' Youth Drug Demand Reduction efforts. Since the Young Marines' humble beginnings, in 1958, with one unit and a handful of boys, the organization has grown to over 300 units with 10,000 youth and 3,000 adult volunteers in 46 states, the District of Columbia, and Germany, Japan, and affiliates in a host of other countries.
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Retired Marine 1st Sgt. Vivian Price-Butler, second from left, shows her students snapshots from her deployments to the Middle East during class in Baltimore. From left, Curt Moore Jr., Ian Fontaine, Donavan Smith and Jeremy Hemmings. photo 4 - Serving Young Marines with special needs
Retired Marine 1st Sgt. Vivian Price-Butler points to a snapshot of herself from her deployment to Iraq during class in Baltimore. She says she found her life’s path at 14, she said, when she saw a commercial for the military and “fell in love with the uniform.” photo 5 - Serving Young Marines with special needs
Retired Marine 1st Sgt. Vivian Price-Butler, center, works with her class in Baltimore. She teaches about the military and its history, and about such basic values as obeying one’s parents and tucking in one’s shirt without being told. The group collects toys for needy children, sends care packages to the troops, visits Veterans Administration hospitals and marches in parades and color guard ceremonies. photo 6 - Serving Young Marines with special needs
For the complete story, go to Special-needs unit of Young Marines teaches youths to serve - The Washington Post
Click on each photo link to see the inspirational picture.
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