STAFF SPOTLIGHT (continued)

“It took at least a year to settle in. In a regular high school, I might teach algebra and geometry. At TK, I needed to teach everything from pre-algebra to calculus. Instead of two lesson plans, I had 30.”

TK residents, ages 12 to 18, attend school at the academy from 9 a.m. to Noon. They have a home room, then attend classes in science, math, English and social studies. The Academy has a principal, four teachers and two aids.

The school is important on many levels, not just the education aspect. Tracy explains, “School provides a degree of normalcy for our young residents. For three hours a day they get a break from therapy and get to focus on something they’re used to doing. They get to be “normal” kids for a while.”

TK Academy is also a safe place for them, especially those who have experienced severe bullying. It is often the case that these residents, due to perfectionism, have developed a high level of anxiety around school, including subjects like math.

“I love being able to show them that they can succeed in an area like math. So many enter my classroom and say, ‘I don’t get math. I can’t do it.’ I show them there is always a way.”

Tracy grew up in a family with three female children and now has three daughters of her own. Fortunately, her final child followed the script and was born only one day prior to the end of the school year.

Today, Tracy doesn’t have 30 lesson plans, she has 49. Yet, she gives each student the same individualized attention that they receive from our clinical staff while in treatment.

“Teaching has always made me happy. Almost every day a new student will ask me in a shocked voice, ‘Do you really like math?’ I can always honestly answer yes, I love what I do.”