Best Kept Secret

[Piano playing "This Little Light of Mine"]

Thank you for calling John F. Kennedy,

best kept secret in the Newark Public Schools.

How may I help you?

So...

have a look.

Hi, Quran, how are you? Fine. How was your New Year?

Yeah? Good, I see you smiling. You must have had a good year.

-Bianca, how you doing? -Good.

How was your New Year?

You slept a lot?

So did I.

I'm on this side, let me get it.

Okay, thank you.

Pull, pull, pull!

So you don't have to walk back, you can ride back.

You're welcome.

...One nation, under God, indivisible,

with liberty and justice for all.

Have a great day. Happy New Year.

Good morning, JFK.

Let's hear it for JFK!

Welcome back

to 2011!

We made it another year, isn't that great?

Robert, it's good to see you!

Say hi.

Hi...

-Miss... -Miss...

-Mino. -Mino.

Good job, that's good talking.

-Good morning. -Good morning.

Uh-uh-uh-uh-uh! Relax.

-Happy New Year. -Happy New Year.

Can I get a kiss?

Thank you.

I'm not a doctor.

I'm not trying to look for a cure.

But if I could teach you how to take care of yourself,

how to express yourself,

or just get some type of language out of you,

where you could be able to voice for yourself.

These are the things that we really need to work with.

Ready?

Read.

"The."

All right, high-ten! Excellent!

You did that by yourself, too.

Do you want something for that?

I didn't understand that. Do you want something for that?

-Yes. -You have to say it louder.

If you don't speak louder,

nobody's going to ever give you what you want.

So, do you want something?

-Yes. -Yes!

-Yes! -Okay, what do you want?

Cookie.

-Cookie? -Cookie!

Oh, that was nice and loud. Sure, you can have a cookie.

But that was beautiful.

You get a big cookie for that, too.

Ra-ra, look at me!

Is this our friend?

Yeah.

Rahamid got a fear of plants and we try to desensitize him.

Outside, he won't go by the trees.

Okay, lesson's over. Okay. Could you put this back for me?

Yeah.

Are you going to put it back?

-Ouch. -Ouch what?

Do you want to put it back for me or no -- yes or no?

-No. -You want me to do it?

-Yes. -Okay, I'll do it.

-What is your name? -Erik.

Very good. My name is Janet.

-Erik. -My...

My name is Erik.

-I live in Montclair. -I live in Montclair.

-No. Ilive in Montclair. -I...

I l...

-Live... -Live...

in...

Orange.

Very good.

Up, up, up, up, up! Come on!

Good. Up.

Good!

I've been teaching for over 20 years.

I had several kids graduate before.

But this time it's different

because my entire class is graduating.

So, we're going to talk about transition.

We're going to have a discussion about what happens

with our students once they leave here,

and particularly since

your entire class is graduating.

One of the biggest problems that we have

for our students with autism is,

there's not a lot of resources post-high school.

So...

they have like a day recreational program

where the kids just come and do activities,

and then they have a work program.

But it's not anything

that I would consider, you know, a standard, traditional job.

Do they have any live-in programs?

Oh, yeah, uh...

It's very private.

And you've got to pay.

And most of our kids wouldn't be able to pay.

-Oh, it's private. -Yeah.

You know, when you graduate school,

you're no longer a student, they call you a "consumer."

So they allow the consumer

to guide and direct what they want to do.

I'm saying "consumers"

'cause that's what they're going to become.

I know, those consumers... It's just...young adults?

They go from being students to consumers.

Sounds like a product instead of a person.

Well, you start talking about these agencies,

we've got to use their language,

because that's the language they use.

So what we'll do is we'll set a schedule.

I have to call these places.

I want to definitely get started in February,

because, you know...

Can we start and just let me visit the places?

-You want to visit without them? -Right.

That way, when I talk to them,

I could suggest this for this and that reason.

Without knowing or been there, I don't even know what to say.

No, you can come.

And let's say, if we want to do the first or the second week...

Rah, what are you supposed to say if that's your coat?

-This is my coat. -My coat.

You gonna let him take your coat?

-My coat. What are you gonna do?

Go get it! -Whose coat is this?

Whose coat?

Huh? Whose coat is this? Mr. D's coat?

-It's my coat. -That's your coat?

Walk out the door with it. -RAHAMID, LAUGHING: My coat.

-My coat. That's right, get him!

Run! Say, "Mr. D!" -My coat.

-This your coat? -My...

Okay.

He said, "Bye, everybody." -Bye, everybody.

Bye-bye.

See you tomorrow.

Okay, see you tomorrow, buddy.

What's up, man?

My man. There you go.

1... 1...

2... 2...

Come on, 3... 3...

Come on, 4... 4...

Come on, 5... 5...

Come on, 6. Keep it close, come on.

Come on, 6...

7.

Come on. 8.

Come on. 9.

-10. -Good job.

My man, high-five. Yes, sir, yes, sir.

First of all, I had to accept

that Quran didn't have a problem, I had the problem.

You know what I'm saying?

Because see, I wanted him to be a different

person than he is.

Wanted him to be normal.

Wanted him to be "normal." Right, you know what I'm saying?

So, now, once I

accepted him for him being who he is --

you know what I'm saying? --

things just became easier.

We have a good foundation.

We've been through a lot of things

and stuff like, you know, and we go through it together.

It's just that, you know, my objective is for Quran

to be able to, uh...

What?

Not get lost.

You know, just sit in a room

and be isolated from everybody.

You know?

And end up in an institution, dealing with whatever.

The state.

So, we have to be in the best position

so that Quran can receive

the best quality of life possible.

Mm-hmm.

Not what we ask him to do.

-What does he like to do? -What does he like to do?

It's just that, you know,

who can we depend on outside of ourselves...

Mm-hmm.

What can we do to get through this next level,

you know what I'm saying?

Robert was being neglected