On Feb. 23 Chantilly High School students stand on stage at the school after receiving “On-A-Roll” certificates acknowledging special efforts they have made to overcome obstacles — either academic or personal — in the quarter.
Some 90 students were honored recently for their academic growth and achievement at Chantilly High’s second-quarter On-A-Roll ceremony. But it meant much more than the certificate they received.
“The faculty selects students who’ve made some sort of improvement worthy of recognition,” said teacher Nikki Lehman, the keynote speaker. “It can be academically or in attendance or for an epiphany they had in class, and the students are pleased to be acknowledged.”
“Many of them aren’t often recognized, so it’s positive reinforcement for them to keep working and keep going to reach that potential,” she said. “It’s someone saying, ‘I believe in you,’ and it gives them that extra push to continue. It’s important and it really makes a difference.”
Chantilly’s Student Services and PTSA/Academic Booster Committee sponsor and support this program, now in its third year. At the outset of the awards ceremony, Lehman urged the students to listen to their hearts when choosing a career path.
She told them she’d initially intended to become a pediatrician but, with guidance from her high-school English teacher, she realized that she really wanted to become a teacher herself. And for the past 10 years, she’s taught English, creative writing and AP literature at Chantilly.
Lehman then gave several examples of people — including her own father — who’d “abandoned other ideas or pursuits to truly engage in what they loved.” And she encouraged the students to do the same.
For instance, said Lehman, Sir Isaac Newton failed at his attempt at a career in business. But he flourished when his uncle sent him to Cambridge University and his math genius was recognized and nurtured. So, said Lehman, “Study what you love.”
Similarly, although Andrea Bocelli’s first career was as a lawyer, his heart belonged to music. After singing on a demo tape sent to opera star Luciano Pavarotti, he eventually realized his dream of singing professionally and became a world-famous tenor.
Julia Child went from a job with the federal government to prominence as a renowned chef, and Harrison Ford gravitated from carpentry to acting. Therefore, said Lehman, it’s OK to take a risk and even find talents in unusual places.
“My advice to you is to always listen to your heart,” she told the students. “Allow your parents, relatives, friends and teachers to help guide you; but in the end, the decision is always yours. Don’t do what you feel you need to do, do what you feel you want to do — what will make you happy and offer you a lifetime of fulfillment. Again, congratulations, and continue to make us proud with your outstanding efforts and excellence.”
Robyn Lady, director of Student Services, said Chantilly’s “trying to recognize kids for a change in attitude or level of effort. An advisory board of parents, students and faculty meets with me four or five times a year to discuss student achievement.”
The students run the gamut from those taking AP classes to those consistently struggling to get to school. And, said Lady, “We’re saying, ‘We notice a change in you and want to create momentum around that change.’ It’s all about helping our students graduate on time and have a plan for afterwards.”
“For many of the students here, it’s the first time they’ve ever won an award,” she continued. “In a school of over 2,600 kids, some of them don’t think they’re noticed, and this gives them the boost to maintain that momentum. Each teacher, counselor and administrator nominates one student, and this is one of the few ceremonies where we call students by name.”
The event’s held four times a year, at the end of every quarter. “Our goal is 100 students each time,” said Lady. “And if we can recognize 400 students a year, over four years, it’s 1,000 kids — which is pretty neat.”
One of those honored at the Feb. 23 ceremony was senior Jocelyn Pacheco. “When I moved here last year from Maryland, in the middle of the school year, I had ‘D’s and ‘F’s; now I have straight ‘A’s and ‘B’s,” she said. “So I’m proud of myself.”
Pacheco said she “worked really hard” to bring up her grades and got some help from her teachers and counselors. Now she plans to attend NOVA and possibly go into the field of criminal justice.
Junior Matt Calvert was recognized for improving in his physics class. “I got a 93 on my midterm and it raised my grade a whole lot,” he said. “It showed in class how well I did. I applied myself and I have a great teacher, [Greg] Reiter, so it worked out. Academically, I haven’t always been great, so it felt good to be recognized for something I haven’t always been good at.”
Dana Webb, a freshman, was honored for Spanish. “I had a bad grade in the first quarter and got it up to a B+,” she said. “I studied harder and reviewed flashcards; and by improving my study habits, I improved my grades, as well.” To prepare for tests, she began studying for nearly two hours; then, as she got the hang of it, she shortened her time.
Her Spanish 1 teacher, Meredith Alexander, nominated her for an On-A-Roll award. Said Webb: “It meant a lot to me to be recognized because it meant I’d achieved my goal of bringing up my Spanish grade.”
Senior Solange Francis felt the same. “When I first started here, my sophomore year, from Manassas, it was hard to find my way,” she said. “I had a rough start — bad behavior and bad grades. What helped me most was changing in my junior year. I decided I wanted to join ROTC in my senior year, so that changed my behavior and grades. I was tired of being known as the bad girl in school.”
So Francis skipped lunches to do extra studying and got one-on-one instruction from her teachers during their planning periods. And because she doesn’t have a computer at home, she used the ones in the library and ROTC room. Eventually, she went from an “F” to a “C” in geometry and from a “D” to a “C” in English.
Now she’s a cadet in Chantilly’s Jr. AFROTC program and plans to become an Army nurse. “One of my goals before graduation was to be on the honor roll, and now I’m on it,” she said. “At the ceremony, I actually felt like I am somebody and I can do it if I set my mind to it. I like Chantilly’s On-A-Roll because it’s not just for ‘A’ and ‘B’ students. It recognizes students for coming a long way to change.”