Essential Skills teacher Barb Kelp and Becca Jones react to applause from the audience.
Students in the Essential Skills class at Brown County High School were recognized for their hard work last week at an awards ceremony in the high school auditorium.
The students’ families, Brown County school faculty and members of the community gathered on the morning of May 15 to show their support for their achievements.
Their teacher, Barb Kelp, announced and handed out the awards to students. As they approached her podium, she introduced them to the crowd — their personalities, what specific challenges they face and how she has seen them all overcome and rise above in their own way.
Each student got a resilience award for staying afloat during the time spent without a permanent classroom after flooding earlier in the year. The other awards included the flashmob and endurance awards for Becca Jones; the persuasive, pop culture and style awards for Donna Hubbard; the doing hard things and “When I least expect it” awards for Skyla Ford; the most improved communication and extracurricular awards for Bryer Anderson; and the offering kindness to others and cashier awards for Egan Gaskins.
Last week, Kelp explained the value of the awards ceremony to her and each student.
“It provides the opportunity for our students to be recognized and congratulated for their accomplishments. All people like to have their hard work recognized and appreciated by others,” she said via email.
Kelp said that the opportunity that is provided in the awards ceremony is “critical” for the students, because their progress toward goals comes at a pace that is individualized for each student.
“The students each earn their awards by achieving their individualized goals,” she said. “Goals that they strive to reach with daily effort and determination.”
Kelp stressed that progress toward those goals is not easily achieved, so she wants to ensure that each and every one of the students, and the community, knows how hard they all work to reach goals and make progress.
“Their efforts are worthy of an opportunity for them to each be recognized,” she said.
The students really enjoy the chance to be in the spotlight, and it means a great deal to them when community members come in to see the ceremony. However, according to Kelp, not many people usually come, eve though the entire high school student body is invited to attend.
“So those people from the community that come and sit in our audience are very, very important to our students,” Kelp said.
“The students appreciate the recognition for their hard work and getting that recognition on stage with all the bright lights shining.”
During the week leading up to the ceremony, Kelp said there was a buzz of excitement in the classroom. Some talked of being nervous, she said, and other wondered which family members would come see them get awards.
After the ceremony, all the students looked excited to show off their award certificates and talk with people about how they earned the awards and the backstories to their progress as they worked toward their goals.
Kelp said she invited many community members including from her church, her friends and family and the organizers of Sunshine Friends. Those who came went to each student and acknowledged them by name and shared complimentary congratulations for the achievements.
“A couple of ladies brought each student a card of congratulations,” Kelp said.
“One of these cards included a gift card to Chocolate Moose and the other card had cash. Of course everyone was so excited about this and we ended up at Chocolate Moose before the day was over using the gift cards.”
Kelp expressed thanks to the community for supporting the students and their hard work, and she wished to ask some important questions as well.
“I will always, with each breath, toss in a bit of advocacy for people with special needs,” Kelp said.
“We’d love the community to consider how they can help include people with special needs into our community. Something as simple as being sure your place of business has an accessible entrance is so important. Can people with special needs access the services you have to offer? Do you include people with special needs in your interviews for jobs?
Kelp said she was recently walking in town and was stopped by a man using a wheelchair as his mobility aid.
“He was outside a shop that he could not access because the only entry into the shop was up two steps,” Kelp said.
“His wife was inside the shop and he asked me if I’d go inside and get his wife. Events like this are so common for people with special needs. It is not only physical needs that need to be met; there are other needs that are important to accommodate. I’d love it if the community would know this and work with me to bring about change on behalf of all of our community members, regardless of their needs.”
