Kasey is a young woman who went to school here for three years... although if you add up the days she was actually in attendance, it was probably more like two. In that time, she was out of school suspended on various occasions for threatening kids, harassing others, and fighting. She was less than charming for most of her tenure here. She was truant so often that near the middle of spring semester of last year, I sent her packing... she was withdrawn from school. I was done with chasing her around.
She chose not to come back for the first semester of this year - I'm not sure what she was doing with her time, but during finals week, she came in to re-enroll. I am ashamed to admit, I closed my office door and let out a private defeated sigh, coupled with a dramatic eye roll. What we have here is an 18-year-old with TEN CREDITS. In three years, she got a little less than half way through high school. I'm no mathematician, but at THAT rate, she won't graduate until she is 21. Statistically speaking, that won't happen. I talked with her about the possibility of getting a GED, and she and her mom said they would look into it, but in the end, she is insistent upon being here.
I had a conversation with her about how she would be on a zero-tolerance plan. She would need to be in class - EVERY class, and she would not be involved in the drama that happens with the group of kids she tends to hang out with. I told her I would expect the leadership that comes with being 18 in a school full of (mostly) minors. She agreed. (I was skeptical.)
While I was gone on Monday, three girls who are on my caseload went over to a store nearby, stole compressed air, huffed it on the way back to school, and then hid in a third floor bathroom and huffed some more. Kasey walked into that bathroom to use the restroom. She saw what was happening, and one of the girls offered her a huff (Kasey still looks like the type of girl who would take someone up on that offer!) She reached for the can and took off running out of the bathroom (I have this on the surveillance camera!) She turned the can and the names of the three girls over to the office.
Miracles do happen, don't they!? Two years ago, Kasey would have been the ringleader here, and now, she is stepping up to the plate and being a good citizen. I still don't know if Kasey will stick it out and get a diploma. She may end up with a GED and then go to beauty school, which is what she plans to do. Either way she (and we) wins - I'd say Kasey's one of the 90.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
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2 comments:
Both of your 90's stories are heartwarming. Thinking of the boy who was kind to the special needs girl, wouldn't you love it if another school's administrator called your office and told you how one of CMR's kids was equally kind? And it sounds like Kasey has some innate goodness in her. I think it took someone like you to bring it out of her. You gave her the message: This is what I expect of you, and I know you can do it. Even if she meets your expectations only once, that's more than she's ever done before.
I have you on Bloglines now and it's updating all screwy and out-of-order. Weird. I am so enjoying catching up with you through your writing though. Hope you don't mind that I am reading!
It makes me so sad that those girls were huffing. I lost a classmate my senior year to huffing almost 20 years ago. I guess I kind of hoped kids would quit doing that, since it can be so, so deadly. *sigh*
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