Joe Hendershott, was selected as a 2015 recipient of the Crystal Star Award of Excellence in Dropout Recovery, Intervention and Prevention by the National Dropout Prevention Center.  

Hendershott, who has worked with kids who are considered beyond at risk since 1982, feels that as an educator, it is important to gain a deeper understanding the students you are educating.  When Hendershott first began his work with beyond at risk youth, he did not realize how great the need for help and understanding was.

“Starting out, I was a little naïve, thinking it was just a few kids here and there.  I think the need continues to grow now.” 

Hendershott mentioned that when he goes to conferences on wounded students, he asks teachers if they believe that they have any students who are beyond at risk, and everyone says yes. However, very few of these teachers believe they are trained to reach wounded students. 

Hendershott says that this means the awareness of the problem is much better now than it used to be, and he wants to teach educators how to help students who are beyond at risk.

According to Hendershott, reaching wounded children starts with understanding. “To reach anybody, you have to be able to first understand them, and to transform them, you have to be able to reach them.”  

Working in dropout prevention in wounded kids, Hendershott says the goal is to target the population of students that is not graduating.  

“Graduation rates are at an all-time high in the United States, but we’re still losing about 20 percent of our students, so we still want to try to go after that 20 percent.”  

In addition to that, Hendershott said that almost 25 percent of kids are dealing with some type of trauma in their lives.  The end goal is to help these students not only find academic success, but also life success.    

Although Hendershott is honored to have received the award, he believes what is important is that the award is helping to bring awareness to wounded kids.   

“This award brings a recognition to the children in need, and that’s the most gratifying part, that people are recognizing that a national level.”

Hendershott’s work is highly recognized, and as a result, starting in 2016, he will be partnering with the National Dropout Prevention Center to give a national conference on reaching wounded students.