49ers Academy Success Stories:

Tramel
Tramel McClough likes basketball, music, art, and science. Up until last year, his behavior prevented him from doing many of the things that he enjoys. A 7th grade student at the 49ers Academy, Tramel now works hard to keep up his grades and behave appropriately in class so that he can take advantage of all the Academy has to offer. His teachers and principal are truly inspired by the behavioral and academic progress he has made since last year.

Upon entering the 6th grade at the 49ers Academy, Tramel struggled academically and socially. He couldn’t sit still in his seat, refused to do his work, talked while his teachers were talking, swore during class, and yelled at anyone who tried to help him. The older brothers and father to whom he looked up were often in and out of jail. While his mother tried to support him academically, she often set low academic expectations for him because of his behavior.

Tramel’s story is an example of the committed relationships that exemplify the Academy’s approach to education. Thanks to the strong partnership between Tramel’s teachers, counselors, para educator, AmeriCorp Aide and mother, Tramel slowly began to make a remarkable turnaround. This dedicated group of people created an incentive program for Tramel whereby he was rewarded for positive behavior. Slowly, Tramel began to trust and respond to the Academy staff. His behavior in class went from inappropriate outbursts to sitting and taking notes during class, working independently and seeking out discovery based learning opportunities. Tramel’s behavioral improvements are evident in his standardized test scores; he improved his STAR math score by 54 points.

Tramel ultimately came to an important realization during his first year at the Academy. “At other schools there are too many teachers who don’t know what you’re doing. I’ve learned that the ones here really care and are really here to help me.” Asked to comment on the changes that occurred during his first year at the Academy, Tramel said, “(My teacher) Ms. D. helped me every day and I improved. Now I’ve turned it around I want to try and get a 4.0.”

49ers Academy Principal Phil Duncan is thrilled by Tramel’s success. “He is a really bright spot at the Academy, kind of a budding diamond in the rough,” said Duncan. “He made a complete behavioral turnaround and really shows the signs of being a model for what the 49ers Academy is all about.”

Academy teachers agree with Principal Duncan’s assessments. Joya Deutsch, Tramel’s 6th grade math and science teacher, commented, “Tramel is a completely different person now than at the beginning of last year. He is really a class leader.”

Monica
When Monica was in the 7th grade, her family moved to California from Mexico. At the time of her arrival in the United States, Monica spoke no English and was extremely shy. Monica lives on one of the most dangerous streets in East Palo Alto. She tells stories of people bursting into her family’s apartment trying to hide from rival gang members. Gangs patrol the street and stop the cars of people who they deem suspicious. Monica and her sister often talk about hearing gunshots at night.

During Monica’s time at the 49ers Academy, she managed to learn English well enough to pass the 8th grade Writing Proficiency Test on the first try (she was one of only five 8th graders to do this). As Monica became more comfortable socially at the 49ers Academy, she also got more involved in school activities. She was the only girl in her 7th grade class chosen to attend a weeklong girls’ science and math camp at Stanford University and was also elected to be the 8th grade girls’ Class Representative. Monica graduated from 8th grade with the highest GPA in the school and became the class Valedictorian. At the end of her 8th grade year at the 49ers Academy, Monica was accepted to Eastside Preparatory High School, a competitive college preparatory high school. She returns often to the Academy to update us on high school and her college selection process.