I met Shane last year as a 7th grader at Calhoun Middle School in Denton, TX, and he struck me as a kid that did not have a lot of respect for ANY authority figures. He consistently showed difficulty in following the law or just rules in general.
Shane was a very bright kid but generally just didn’t feel like doing his work as he’d oftentimes sleep in class and flat out refuse to do the work that his 7th grade teachers assigned. Even though he was set up with a great mentor, his behavior didn’t change for the better and actually got progressively worse as the school year was coming to an end as he spent multiple days in In-School Suspension (ISS) and Out of School Suspension (OSS).
I told Shane “You are smart enough to pass each and every one of your classes with an 80 or 90 yet you choose to fail it with a 55”. His mentor also reinforced what I was trying to get through to him, and this year, it is finally starting to pay off.
Shane has made a dramatic change. He has not only passed all of his classes, but he is maintaining a B-average while taking advanced history and science courses., He is also a member of the football, basketball, cross-country, and track & field teams here at Calhoun.
The kid that used to be the cause for consternation for his teachers now serves as one of the leaders in each of his classes. One teacher that is new to Calhoun recently stated that “Shane has been an angel in my class, and I wish I had classroom full of Shanes”.
Shane has made great strides in all are-as of his life and I can’t wait to see what the future brings!!
