Best Kept Secret

---

[Piano playing

"This Little Light of Mine"]

[Laughter]

Thank you for calling

John F. Kennedy,

best kept secret in

the Newark Public Schools.

How may I help you?

[Indistinct conversations]

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?

[Indistinct]

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!

[Cheering]

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.

[Giggling]

Ready?

Read.

"The."

All right, high-ten!

Excellent!

You did that

by yourself, too.

Do you want something

for that?

[Vocalizing]

I didn't understand that.

Do you want something for that?

-Yes.

-You have to say it louder.

[Vocalizing]

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!

[Ding]

[Sand rattling]

I've been teaching

for over 20 years.

[Ding]

I had several kids

graduate before.

[Ding]

But this time it's different

because my entire class

is graduating.

[Sand rattling]

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...

MINO:
Rah, what are you supposed

to say if that's your coat?

-This is my coat.

-My coat.

MINO:
You gonna let him

take your coat?

-My coat.

MINO:
What are you gonna do?

MINO:
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?

MINO:
Walk out the door with it.

-RAHAMID, LAUGHING: My coat.

-My coat.

MINO:
That's right, get him!

MINO:
Run! Say, "Mr. D!"

-My coat.

-This your coat?

-My...

Okay.

MINO:
He said, "Bye, everybody."

-Bye, everybody.

Bye-bye.

See you tomorrow.

MINO:
Okay,

see you tomorrow, buddy.

What's up, man?

[Kiss]

My man.

There you go.

MAN:
1...

RAHAMID:
1...

MAN:
2...

RAHAMID:
2...

MAN:
Come on, 3...

RAHAMID:
3...

MAN:
Come on, 4...

RAHAMID:
4...

MAN:
Come on, 5...

RAHAMID:
5...

Come on, 6.

Keep it close, come on.

Come on, 6...

Come on. 8.

Come on. 9.

-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.

DORIS:
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.

BRADLEY:
The state.

So, we have to be in

the best position

so that Quran can receive

the best quality of life

possible.

DORIS:
Mm-hmm.

BRADLEY:
Not what we ask him

to do.

-What does he like to do?

-What does he like to do?

BRADLEY:
It's just that,

you know,

who can we depend on outside

of ourselves...

DORIS:
Mm-hmm.

BRADLEY:
What can we do to get

through this next level,

you know what I'm saying?

WOMAN:
Robert was

being neglected

by my sister.

She couldn't...

She couldn't handle it.

Because of addiction.

Drugs.

He was living with my mother,

and my sister was there

with my mother, too,

but my sister had went

to jail.

And when she went to jail,

my mother could no longer care

for Robert.

And Robert was undernourished.

And he was really really in a

bad shape.

And Robert was undernourished.

And he was really really in a

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