Scarsdale Student Desperately Needs Help to Continue His Education

The following is written by a dear dear friend of mine from high school. His son is entering
his senior year at Scarsdale High School. They both are from rural Virginia and his son was sent to live with his aunt (My friend's sister who had guardianship) in Scarsdale before his freshman year. The boy being Asian was being bullied relentlessly in Virginia because of his ethnicity and his grades had suffered. Once he was ensconced at Scarsdale High (which happens to have a sizeable Asian population) he thrived academically and socially.

Well, as we know, families tend to fight. My friend's sister and his brother in law have just notified my friend and his son that he is no longer welcomed back. Yeah, you read that right, several weeks before his senior year. This young man deserves to graduate with his class and his friends. My friend is looking for a host family and it is all on the up and up. He will pay expenses, etc... Tuition at Scarsdale is $28k

Anyway, let him explain it. If you can help, please share this, email me (Sobronxschool@gmail.com), leave a comment. School starts in about three weeks. Any advice, advocacy, whatever, will be helpful. Names have been changed. Bold added for emphasis.

I am looking for a family in Scarsdale who would be willing to be a host and guardian family to my 17 year old son.  

 

Hello, my name is Hank, my son’s name is Bill. Bill has been living in Scarsdale for the last 5 years, and should be a graduating senior at Scarsdale High School (SHS) this upcoming year. Bill lives with my sister and her husband in Scarsdale for the majority of the year, and then he comes home to rural, Virginia during his breaks and summer vacations. 

 The reason Bill is living in Scarsdale is because there are very few Asian students in our school district in Virginia. My son and daughter are both half Filipino and half Caucasian, and unfortunately his peers in school bullied him with racial jokes and taunts, making his school experience a pure hell.  My sister in Scarsdale whose youngest two children were recruited to Princeton for their fencing, offered to home school Bill and to make him an Epee fencer like his cousins. With hopes to get him into a great college, at the time it was an offer I could not refuse. My wife and I knew it was going to be hard sending our boy away, but it was with family, and it was the best we could do for him given the situation at school wasn’t going to get better. I prayed Bill would be able to handle being away from us at age twelve, but we felt the education he would receive would be extraordinary. We also felt Scarsdale is a beautiful community offering a much more diverse population, so we knew he would feel more welcome.

After two years of home schooling, my sister said it would be advantageous if Bill enrolled in SHS, and I agreed. Seeing our little boy, who was a C-D student in a not very academically challenging school system, to one of the top elite high schools in the country, my wife and were bursting with pride. 

Bill has been at Scarsdale High for 3 years now, he has challenged himself by taking some of the more difficult courses offered, and has been rewarded with great grades and teacher accolades. Right now after the end of his junior year, Bill boasts a 3.71 GPA and got an outstanding score on his ACT and is a member of the Honor Society. All his hard work has truly paid off, and he is quite proud of his accomplishments. 

 A few days ago, my brother-in-law called my wife Susan and said that Bill was no longer welcome in their house to finish his senior year! This was a decision made by both my brother in law and my sister. He told Susan that Bill talked to the school counselor without their permission. They felt Sam undermined their rules and he discussed family matters with outsiders and betrayed them. Bill had also gotten into a verbal argument  with his 23 year old cousin and they weren’t going to put up with that either. So they said Bill was not welcome to come back to their house after the summer vacation. Unfortunately, I have no way of changing or fixing this situation. My sister has already filed papers to dissolve their guardianship. I have tried to have other family members help or intervene but to no avail. My brother lives in Hartsdale (right down the street from my sister), said he was more than happy to take Bill, but because she is giving up Bill’s guardianship it also gives up his residency, so Bill can’t stay there and commute. Scarsdale High School does offer a $28,000 out of district fee for graduating seniors who have completed 11th grade which he has. Unfortunately this is not an option we are able to afford. 

I would happily pay all attorney costs, all Bill’s food, clothing, medical and anything I might be forgetting if someone would be kind enough to open their heart and their home to a boy who wasn’t divulging deep family secrets. He was only discussing what every 16 year old who is trying to keep up his grades, his fencing, and social life , basically anxiety... I’m proud he made the choice to talk to someone and not keep it bottled up, just sorry for the drastic consequences. Please help, I don’t know anyone in Scarsdale and have run out of options.

Thank you for your time,

Hank Henry

Please, if anyone has any ideas, any one that can advocate, facilitate, come up with an idea please let me know.