By Cindy Adams

The first day back at Penn Forest Elementary felt heavier than the backpack on her shoulders. For fifth grader Amelia Perkins the doubt was real. Months earlier, the county school staff hadn't been convinced she was ready to return to public school. Her progress scores weren't enough, it wasn't time yet, maybe it never would be. The team who believed in her had fought hard to prove otherwise. So, she took a breath, pushed the door open and stepped inside.

Not a lot had changed in a year and a half but, to Amelia, everything was different. She knew the people there remembered a previous version of her, the one that had been pulled from class and transferred to Roanoke Minnick School. But at Minnick she had grown stronger, built coping skills and found herself. She carried quiet proof of that progress now. These teachers hadn’t seen it yet, but she had.

"She is not the same kid she was," said Ken Perkins, Amelia's dad. "Minnick was exactly what we needed it to be. They had the knowledge and tools to deal with her behaviors and help her move forward in her education."

In a smaller classroom, Minnick teachers noticed her subtle strengths. She wasn't measured against others, and her ability to think differently was applauded. In fact, Amelia was identified as a gifted learner and often had a different, yet valid, perspective on the problems she encountered. Sometimes this might prompt Amelia to not do her work or be disruptive in the classroom.

"Amelia loved to correct me," said Ashlyn Martin, Amelia's primary teacher at Roanoke Minnick School. "If I didn’t do it the right way or there was an easier way to do it, she would certainly let it be known."

Amelia was extremely bright. There was no denying that. The task was to help her build practical coping skills and alternative responses. Ms. Martin would pull Amelia out of her standard class throughout the week to do work from her gifted curriculum. She appreciated Amelia's unique way of seeing things and assisted her in finding ways to effectively communicate those thoughts.

"Sometimes I would help her with her work and sometimes she would show me how to do it," Ashlyn said.

Amelia's teachers understood that some of her noncompliance and silliness was exacerbated by being the only girl in a classroom of boys. So, they found yet another avenue for connection, creating space for what mattered to her, namely cheerleading.

"We loved pampering her before a game," Ashlyn said. "We painted her nails and put tinsel in her hair. We made room for what was special to her and validated her girly feelings."

But it wasn't the polish or tinsel that mattered. It was the relationship. It was the trust.

"I remember one time she was upset because she wore glasses," Ashlyn said. "We showed her pictures of famous people who also wore glasses. 'They are beautiful and so are you,' we told her."

With time and trusting relationships in place, they began celebrating small victories like Amelia raising her hand, finishing an assignment, speaking up when something was too difficult or appropriately offering another viewpoint. And these moments slowly built confidence.

It was time for Amelia to return to her home public school, but not everyone was ready to embrace it. Her parents knew she was. Her Minnick teachers knew she was. Getting the county school district to agree took longer. Everyone wanted the return to be successful, so, together, they worked out a transition plan.

Amelia's Student Support Professional, Victoria Hess, helped navigate the six-month process of bridging Amelia's coping strategies into her new classroom and IEP accommodations. For example, putting her head down and saying "no" wasn't a refusal. It was a coping strategy. Penn Forest teachers had to learn that distinction and to trust it.

It was a slow transition back to public school, starting with one hour per day and lasting six months.

"We don't take it lightly when we send a student back to their home school. It's a testament to us at Minnick and the work we do," Victoria said. "But Amelia was ready."

In her home school, Amelia recently built a guitar for her science class and did a presentation on what she learned. Amelia did really well, but her dad already knew she would.  

"We’ve seen a lot of growth," Ken said. "Minnick gave her strategies to work through her day. I’m sure it's tough to try again, but her home school teachers are now seeing how her behaviors have changed."

Yes, it was tough. But the girl who stepped back through that door wasn't the same one who had left. And everyone could see it now. She came back with the quiet confidence of a girl who already knows what she's capable of. Minnick educators didn’t "fix" Amelia. They simply helped her see what was already there.