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Growing up in rural Oklahoma, I didn't have a counselor.  Going back and reading my yearbook,  I was that sounding board for my friends.  The majority of the comments were thanking me for listening and giving advice that helped them get through whatever situation they were facing.

I show up everyday wanting to be a change agent for students and my entire work environment.

Alexander

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My Why - A student we were worried wouldn't graduate with us in 4 years.

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My Why - A student we were worried wouldn't graduate with us in 4 years.

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I met her as a 9th grader in my Algebra 1 class. She sat at the front of the class and clearly picked up a technique that would make her teacher think she was listening, engaged, and understanding. While she was listening and appeared engaged. She was always lost and confused. I had a one-on-one conversation with her and gave her a list of things that I needed her to do all the time no matter what her classmates did. I said if you are the last one to finish my test and class was dismissed then I would stay and wait until she was done. On the EOC I told her she would see her classmates finish a lot faster than her but she was to keep working until she was satisfied with her test. She was the last one to finish. She was enrolled in reconnect and I gave her her pacing she followed it and was the first in the group to finish her reconnect class. She was struggling on TSI. She had failed it multiple times. I took her through 17 problems and gave her a how to approach and she finally passed it.

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Because the kids I have are the kid I was...unsure about my abilities, questioning whether the subject matter I taught was even comprehensible. I come to Lassiter to make help kids see that they already know a lot- we're just here for the details!

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Micaela Alcantara-Why I wake up every morning looking forward to come to Lassiter. I am a big believer that you have to do what you enjoy. My joy is working with an amazing team. Coming to work in a safe environment where I can be myself. I enjoy helping others. I look forward in seeing every student. I love to see them react to a simple "Good Morning" or "Have a great day". To make them feel like they matter. I think that's my way of having purpose.

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I show up to work everyday because I like what I do. I enjoy working with the teachers and students at Lassiter. I thought working at a high school would be challenging and it has however it has helped me grow in ways that I would not have grown had I not taken the steps.

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To provide for my family, to learn, to share, to support....
BC I enjoy guiding students, watching them grow, and being a part of so many journeys....
I enjoy listening, validating, and accepting students (co-workers) where they are in their life journey.....

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I am here at Lassiter to help those students who need a little extra help because they have a disability (and the ones who don't as well). Over the past couple of years, I have come to love supporting these students and seeing the growth they are able to make over the course of the school year.

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Lassiter provides the type of opportunity that I only wish I could have had during my time in high school. I come every day in the hopes of showing our students just how fortunate they are with this program, and to teach them to think critically no matter what they choose to do in life. You don't have to be a scientist to think like one.

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I show up to work everyday to expose our students to diversity and choices outside of their everyday norm. It is important that students think on a global scale and examine solutions to problems but that means that they have to become life long learners and develop a passion for learning even if it is outside of the classroom. I never thought about college until someone told me that I was going. I never knew I was above my class or even smart until someone told me. It is important that I am at work to tell my students what they can do and who they can be.

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Jennifer Waddell-Enusure students are able to meet the demands of school

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Jennifer Waddell-Enusure students are able to meet the demands of school

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Students come to me with physical and sometimes mental/emotional issues. I want to provide a safe environment for them to express themselves and know they will be taken seriously. I want to help where I can and hopefully outsource when I can't. I want to serve as a role model and resource beyond typical nursing duties and encourage students to succeed.

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This school gives students a chance to strive for their dreams and have them become a reality. The students come from backgrounds that may not offer as much as others, but most want to be here. The students push me to give them my best and prepare them for the crazy world. I want to give them what I never had from my teachers and community, a chance to flourish.

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(Peacemaker)What calls me to stay at LECHS for the 8th year is that it feels like the right place to be. I'm fortunate to love my job, which has made the years fly by. We have it great here. Our students are the most important reason as to "Why."

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(Peacemaker)What calls me to stay at LECHS for the 8th year is that it feels like the right place to be. I'm fortunate to love my job, which has made the years fly by. We have it great here. Our students are the most important reason as to "Why."

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I just love working here: my kids, my coworkers, the overall environment. I love helping kids find some value in reading, watching them experience the adventures books can provide. I especially love seeing them start to understand deeper meanings in texts and how they can relate to completely different people experiencing similar emotions. Watching the kids see the value of reading.

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I have always felt a responsibility to prepare students for their future.  In art especially, it will let them discover the creative skills and appreciation in our visual world.
Having a general knowledge of visual appreciation in everything will help them become a well rounded individual

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I show up every day in order to do my best to educate students about our history. We are at a scary place right now with the threat of authoritarianism and Christo-Fascism. If I can reach some of them at least, my hope is that they will be able to call out false narratives and even lead others to be more knowledgeable and participatory Americans.

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I want to create a bunch of Investigators, really. I want kids to love to find out more about the world, whether it's through reading, technology, or something else. I want them to be able to talk to anyone about anything and become life-long learners for real.

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To do my job the best I can

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To help provide students the opportunities that they will need to succeed in any path of life they may choose.

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Iker was a mess. Daily. He struggled every day in every class to earn a 69%. Everyday he would make bad decisions, and he spent a lot of time in my office crying after these decisions vowing to do better. Iker exhausted me. Daily. At one point, I had to suspend him from the program for a month due to one of his decisions. We both cried.  Iker came back and earned a 70% in his first college class and I could still cry thinking about it. One day, I was observing his English class and they were sharing out thesis sentences, and Iker volunteers to read his after about 4 other students. After he read his, the entire class started clapping. That was the day that it was cemented that every kid plays an important role in the success of the others. Iker wasn't in the program to get masters on his EOCs or A's in all of his college classes- he was there to show everyone else what grit and grace looked like on a daily basis. As much as Iker exhausted me, he exhausted himself even more. Every day he fought all that he had been raised to be and every habit that had brought him to this place. Iker is everything early college is about to me- find the kid that can't, make him believe that he can, give him the tools that he'll need to change and the environment and support that demands excellence, and then never stop fighting for them. Iker is still fighting to meet the standard. He has caused some of my most disappointing professional days, and there will be no greater professional joy than seeing him walk in DCCCD graduation- and mark my words, he will!