Meet Tristan, 12th-Grade

I came to DVFriends mid-way through 11th grade from a large public high school. My transition to DV was very smooth. I made friends the day I visited the school before I had even transferred. The environment was so welcoming that everything fell into place without me having to do much. The teachers and everyone were so accommodating.

 

I have a hard time staying focused and if I struggled with something I just didn’t want to do it.

 

I had less stress. I built relationships with teachers that I was not able to get at a large public high school. The environment at DV not only fosters education but learning to advocate for yourself and learning to socialize with lots of different people both peers and adults. The bigger the school, the smaller the circles, but here you know everybody – even in middle and lower school. I can converse comfortably with anyone in this school.

 

Flexibility – everyone at DV is willing to be flexible. You express a need to your teacher and there’s something for you. The teachers want you to succeed and they are willing to do whatever it is that will help you succeed. At my old school, I had disengaged from learning and had forgotten the strategies I needed to use to get work done and I couldn’t read fluently anymore. Once I came to DVFriends, the teachers helped me get those strategies back. In my first year at DV I read the first full book I have read since I was 10 years old.

 

At DVFriends, I am in the Rock ensemble, the playwriting group, Drumline, Outside of school, I am in the Main Line School of Rock and a member of their house band. I also went on the ABLE trip to the Galapagos Islands, which was perspective-altering. Just experiencing the world outside your country. Everyone knows that there are different places and cultures intellectually but not experientially. Of course, there were stunning views and animals you can’t find anywhere else, but, for me, learning to communicate with non-English speakers using just what I’ve learned in Spanish 1 was an eye-opening experience. We ended up using a lot of non-verbal means to communicate. Learning to communicate with and to accommodate others and be accommodated so that no one was left out of the conversation was challenging but one of the most memorable and impactful experiences of the trip.

 

When things stop being difficult and you start succeeding at things you didn’t succeed at before, it fosters a better mood and a better perception of yourself. I didn’t feel good about myself in public school because I wasn’t putting work out that I could put out. I felt stupid and often ostracized. Now I have a better self-perception and my general mood is much better. This change in mindset has also affected my life outside of school. I’ve come to realize that every problem has a solution and I am way less hung up on really anything. If I think calmly and rationally, I can figure something out. My self-awareness has also grown. I realize I have a time limit in terms of concentration, but that time limit is longer than I originally thought, especially if I am working on something that I’m passionate about.

 

People assume that a school for learning differences is easy and not challenging academically. They also assume that because I didn't do well in public school I am not capable of producing high-quality work in an academically challenging environment. At DVFriends, I am still challenged in every class, and more importantly, I am happy to be there. I’ve found a balance of challenge and engagement but I’m not stressed or overwhelmed. I’m getting things done while fostering a love of learning.