Planting the Garden of Life

William Clark Sr.
June 29, 2010
Senator baffled by Obama’s view on La. oil
July 1, 2010
William Clark Sr.
June 29, 2010
Senator baffled by Obama’s view on La. oil
July 1, 2010

With the temperature raging upward of 90 degrees, four teenagers brave the heat to mulch the Raceland Senior Citizen Center’s garden.

One takes off his over-shirt, throws it to the side and begins pulling weeds with a smile on his face.


Another jokes about his sweaty head causing the dye in his hair to run down into his face.


One would think it must be a special kind of child in today’s society to take so much pleasure in helping the elderly on such a hot, summer day.

So what school do these fine, young men attend?


How about AMIkids, a school specializing in improving the lives of adjudicated youth and children who have failed in a conventional school setting.


“We’re a school primarily for kids on probation,” said AMIkids teacher and volunteer supervisor Shannon Clutterbuck. “A lot of times, after they’ve been through the alternative school in their own parish, they come to us.”

AMIkids Bayou Region currently services 38 children between the ages of 12 and 17 in Terrebonne, Lafourche and St. Charles parishes and is one of 55 programs in seven states trying to give troubled youth a second chance.


Operating year round, the local chapter offers school classes, counseling, behavior modification and volunteer work, and as part of the 2nd Annual “Service from the Heart” week, local children fixed up the garden at the Raceland Senior Citizens Center last week and even served refreshments to the center’s bingo game one evening.


“They’re taking responsibility for something,” said Clutterbuck. “A lot of them need that. They need to know they’re working toward something besides themselves.”

The school’s goal is to release kids back to their local school with a renewed sense of how to become a decent member of society and how to contribute to it – a transformation Clutterbuck said makes the process of converting a child’s behavior worthwhile.


“I love watching the growth,” said Clutterbuck. “It’s amazing seeing when they first get here how they’re behaving and then seeing the major growth in their behavior and attitude.”

One child Clutterbuck is particularly proud of is 15-year-old Braiden Sumarall of Norco.

The teenager was assigned to AMIkids by his probation officer after an altercation at his previous school nine months ago.

But the troubled youth didn’t take to the program initially.

“When I first started AMIkids, I was getting worse and worse until I decided, ‘Hey, I want to get out this program’,” said Braiden. “They said I should be out at the end of the month. I’m really happy about that.”

The 9th grader looks forward to enrolling in Destrehan High School in the fall with a new outlook on life.

“I feel like the program has really helped me, because I’ve seen a lot of changes in my life, in the way I talk to people, in the way I respect people,” Braiden said. “I feel if I had never come to AMIkids, I would probably be locked up right now.”

But Sumarall isn’t the only potential success story.

Joining him in the garden and on the road to redemption were 15-year-old Ty Ray of Houma, 13-year-old Jordan Burrell of Thibodaux and 14-year-old Curtis John Plaisance of Golden Meadow.

“I got here a month ago, and I’ve been doing a lot better,” said Curtis John. “They’ve been helping me with my anger, and I’ve been making progress in school.”

Clutterbuck even said she can’t stop Jordan from cleaning her classroom before social studies class every day.

“I tell them they’re good kids who just made foolish makes to wind up here,” said Clutterbuck. “They just need to straighten up, and these kids are well on their way.”