2010-02-21 CNN
What makes Capital Prep different from many of the schools that the students are attending now is that we're a year-round school. We go to school beginning in July and we end in June. We have very high expectations of our students, but more importantly, we have the highest expectations of our faculty because we believe they have a great opportunity to influence children's lives. They need to be people who are willing to listen and learn; they need to be people who are willing to work harder than they've ever imagined. And that's where students begin to succeed because they know that they have somebody who cares deeply enough about them and will give them everything that they have.
AZUZ: How do teachers do that?
PERRY: One of the ways that teachers show they care is to hold the children to high expectations. Children want teachers to expect a lot of them. Be a part of their life; ask questions about their life; act like you care about the kid. Get to know them. Get to know their families. Doesn't mean you have to go over to their house to a barbecue, but at the very least, know that they have a house or don't have one. One of the ways in which we work with our children is that we let them know that we love them. We love them enough to take the time to get the most out of them. So, we're not going to wait for them to become successful. We're going to do everything we can to make them successful.
AZUZ: In some cases in Capital Prep, it's tough love, isn't it? Can you talk a little bit about that for us?
PERRY: Tough love. Well, I only know one kind of love. If you've ever been in love, Carl, you know that there's only one kind of love. It's all tough. And we love our children enough to take the time to correct them. We believe, in fact, that correction is the highest form of affection. I don't take any mess from anybody. I'm not going to let anybody stand in the way of our children's success, not even the child themself. So, when you come to Capital Prep, the expectation is that you're there to perform. You're not there to act the fool; you're not there to throw paper or goof around. You want to goof around? Go outside. Here, something very important is happening: We're saving children's lives. We take the time to make sure that our children understand that they are not allowed to fail. I repeat: They are not allowed to fail. They have to give everything that they have until they have nothing else, and then we want more.