Program making a difference for at-risk youth in Cobb County

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A student who was expelled from school is now on the road to success, thanks to a program the Marietta City School district offers.

Juan Linares was 15-years-old when he was charged with a felony.

“I had a probation officer. I was on house arrest. I guess I was hanging around the wrong people. It’s not like they were bad bad ... like committing crimes,” Linares told Channel 2′s Cobb County Bureau Chief Michele Newell.

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He decided to change the path he was on and enrolled in the Marietta Alternative Placement School.

“After I got expelled I would hang out with them on the weekends, but once I started doing the dual enrollment I stopped hanging with all the people that I talked to in high school and just had two friends,” said Linares.

“I surrounded myself with people that had goals. I know if I get locked up my mom is not going to want to see me in jail. I think about my nieces and nephews, like what example am I putting to them?” said Linares.

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He is setting a good example now.

“I turned something bad into good and that’s what I like. I really want to be an entrepreneur. I want to have my own mechanic shop,” said Linares.

Linares is closer to fulfilling his dreams. He graduated from the MAPS program and credits the program’s coordinator for much of his success.

“I always tell Farhat that I want to be really successful and he’ll always tell me just keep doing what I’m doing,” said Linares.

Farhat Ahmad is more like family to his students and believes that building long-lasting relationships is the key to their success.

“With at-risk youth, regular school already failed them. Structure already failed them. I got rid of class schedules. I got rid of everything traditional about school,” said Ahmad.

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