Sims was reading well below grade level when he dropped out of high school at the end of senior year. It’s not lost on him that his well-educated parents couldn’t stop him.
And even after he went to night school and earned his diploma at age 26, he said he spent many more years making up ground. He and his wife made sure that their son and daughter did well in school. His son, who was the valedictorian of his senior class, is now in college. His daughter is the valedictorian of her class this year and leaves for college in the fall.
But he doesn’t want either of them to return to live in the old neighborhood after they graduate, even if it means they could serve as role models.
“Right now, it’s not safe here,” he said. “We have this house that’s paid for, and it could be a good start for them. But I’d rather they be safe.”
Article Appeared @http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014-04-28/news/ct-violence-trice-met-0428-20140428_1_middle-class-trice-death-toll