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"When I arrived at the school in early November, Destani seemed defeated, almost as though she didn’t believe in herself or her intelligence. Despite what appeared to be defeat in her daily academic classes, Destani still had a fire in her to try. Destani began to receive more detailed and deliberate assistance from the teaching staff here. There was almost an instant change in Destani. With the different and more targeted assistance, Destani began to shine in class. She started to try and read aloud in class, answer questions the teachers asked for the whole group, and started turning in her homework and coursework daily. As Mr. Franklin said, her grades were on the low end, but today-today she is a B student. She is active in class, diligent in her coursework and tests, has better attendance, and is eager to learn. Destani has become an advocate, and not just for herself. Destani has become vocal in ensuring her needs and others in her class are being met. Destani is a true scholar and, despite adversity, has flourished into a magnificent scholar both academically and through her active citizenship in class." --Courtney De Schepper, 6th grade teacher 

"As Destani’s ELA teacher it was evident from the first day of school that Destani’s reading and writing skills were not that of her peers, or of the typical 6th grader. The first couple of months of school were an incredible struggle for her, from keeping up with the pace of the class in writing paragraphs, or to reading multiple pages of a chapter book. Destani’s struggles continued to be reflected in her grades. She completely failed the first trimester. Staff came together to support her in the areas that she needed the most help, however, the drive of the change was Destani. She constantly came to me asking what to do to get better, or explaining to me when she didn’t know a specific word, whereas in the beginning of the school year she stayed quiet and hid. As the year progressed, Destani became more and more of a leader and an inspiration for CLAE staff and students alike. She continues to make strides every day and with the values she has learned here as a part of the founding 6th grade class, she will continue to grow and be a leader wherever she goes."  -- Alex Gordon, 6th grade English Language Arts teacher

"I have the pleasure of having Destani in my crew as well as in my math class. I have watched her grow exponentially both socially and academically over the course of this school year. In crew, she was a passive participant whom would only contribute when asked directly. She has grown in her courage as she now is a regular contributor to our discussions, making thoughtful anecdotes about the topic at hand. In math class, she struggled greatly on basic concepts, often time giving up and refusing to participate. She began asking for help in November and has grown immensely since then. She even met her end of year goal on her NWEA during our Winter administration! It has been a sincere joy to watch her come out of her shell and reach her potential." --Jessica Stickel , 6th grade teacher