The Yeckes triplets didn’t appear to care about school when they arrived at Valley High School in Las Vegas. Haley, Kassidy, and Sierra were hostile to teachers, counselors, and other authority adults in general. They had poor attendance and were failing their classes. The girls stayed to themselves and depended only on one another.
Rather than abandoning them, the school enrolled the triplets in the GEAR UP program, which offered them additional care and assistance. The more comfortable the triplets felt with the GEAR UP team, the better their attendance and grades.
They also eventually told out about their position, which was far worse than anyone could have predicted. When the triplets were three months old, their mother died. Their father was jailed when they started sixth grade. They moved in with a grandmother, but because she didn’t value education, they didn’t start school until they were eight years old.
When their dad was released from prison, he moved in with the daughters. But he would abandon them for weeks at a time to care for themselves. Their time with him came to an end when their house was shot up when they were at home alone.
The girls moved home with their grandparents, who were incredibly uncaring. The triplets were homeless for a while, without food, clothes, or transportation.
The triplets overcome the loss of both parents and homelessness with the assistance of their GEAR UP teachers. They went on to increase and keep their GPAs over 3.0 despite taking difficult classes, participating in extracurricular activities, and working as “unescorted adolescents.”
Given the obstacles, the Yeckes triplets are doing fantastically well today. Watch as the three are brought away after earning their degrees for the surprise of their lives.
