Student Success Stories

He said he feels The Winston School has been a good fit for him and other students with learning differences because of its individualized approach to education. "The school is good at promoting teacher / student communication and in keeping kids engaged in what they are doing. It’s all about taking a different approach from the norm and seeing if you can make it work."

Bo said he learned early on that he had a love and talent for art. "I started in ceramics in the third or fourth grade and fell in love with it. Then I started serious drawing." He credits his long-time art/graphics/visual arts teacher Dan Peragine for fanning his love of art and music. "He sets a mood in his art room by playing jazz and blues. I’ve found music is essential in my getting into a mood to create."

Academically, Bo credits his lower school teacher Mrs. (Diane) Wedig with helping him set the foundation for learning. "She essentially taught me how to read and the virtues of hard work. You have to keep working on it until you get it done." She also encouraged him to read, which has become a favorite pastime. "It took me a while, but once I got it I really got it. She found stuff I might be interested in and that’s essentially what worked. She also did a lot with reading comprehension – she’d read a story and then ask you questions before she continued."

Others who influenced him include his physical education teacher Arnold Kairdof and computer graphics teacher Bill Harrison as well as Mr. (Ernie) Hartt. "I had three classes with him. He’s kind of an alternative systems guy. He doesn’t just open the book and start with it. He opens the book and makes his own lesson and then starts teaching. I found this to be much more effective."

He also credits his seven years in Boy Scouts of America (BSA) with helping set a foundation and course for his life. He’s also currently the president of Adventuring Crew 752 in Oceanside. This summer he is participating as an assistant scout master in the BSA’s 100 year anniversary for the Jamboree. Summer plans also include researching design and practicing design skills as well as "fabbing" a couple of his own ideas.

Whether in school or scouts, Bo said, "It’s a lot of hard work and you get what you put in. It doesn’t mean just working on hard on tests and reading books, it means thinking creatively."

The idea to attend Winston originally came from a doctor who offered her a selection of possible school choices. "Winston was the first school I visited and I was like ‘wow this is really an awesome school,’" she said. "I liked the fact the classes were small and could focus on what the teacher was saying. If I had a question I could ask it and 30 other hands wouldn’t be in the air. It’s easier to understand hard content. "Since I have Asperger's, sometimes things don’t make it home into my brain. I’m able to take notes in classes and not be distracted by people passing notes and texting. I notice a lot of things but at Winston, the teacher was the only person to focus on making it much easier."

Compounding the academic challenges, Jasmine said the larger public school environment also posed problems socially. "At my old school it was way too difficult to jump from one group to another group. Say you want to hang out with people who play video games but you can’t jump groups because you commit social suicide. It was very hard to keep them in order with their faces – it felt like chaos. Being packed like sardines and being the only one who doesn’t get what’s going on – that’s my analogy."

Jasmine said Winston’s individualized approach and small class sizes made a big difference from her first day at the school. "Mr. (Matt) Curreri recognized me. I got a slip of paper that you get when people notice you – that was my first day there. I can’t remember what it said, but I remember thinking that I was really happy for being noticed for something that I had done. Here they notice you did something good and you rose above average to meet a challenge that other people tried but didn’t succeed. I was really happy - it kind of got me hooked."

She says she felt it was ironic that she was sitting in the very same room where, during her first school visit, she talked to the previous headmaster about the virtues of attending a smaller school. "I remember him asking what I liked about the school. I said I really liked the video games because they have a section for those. I could have said how small it is and how many teachers can help you," she laughed. "Now I have so many other things that I like. I don’t even play video games when I’M HERE."

One of those things she likes is her friends. "I’m going to be sad leaving my friends, but I know some people are going to be affected by my leaving because I helped them. For instance one student came in and was super shy and wouldn’t talk to anyone and now they can talk and ask questions – I’m really happy that I touched someone and was able to help."

An outgoing, confident and articulate girl, it’s hard to believe Jasmine was ever shy or an under-achiever. She proudly talks about being selected as a student panelist for two of The Winston School Conversation presentations and was honored to have been selected to address the school’s board of directors with two other students. She said she also earned recognition and skills by participating in the Winston workability program making lunch pizzas at The Winston Corner commissary. "I never thought I would work anywhere but through the program, but I am getting more used to the idea that there is going to be someone telling you what to do."

Looking back at her senior year, she said her math teacher Mr. (Ernie) Hartt has been particularly influential. "He explained how things worked many times. It’s weird because he teaches as if you were in college. He writes stuff on the board and he’s a fast writer. While you’re still writing he starts explaining it. He wants people to get used to college before you’re in it." And, even though math traditionally had been her toughest class, she said she is leaving the school with a solid understanding of the subject. "I didn’t ever think I would get Algebra 2. I don’t know if it’s how he teaches – but things get stuck in my brain and stay there."

As she prepares to leave for Monterrey Bay State in the Fall, she said she hopes others students that are struggling with school have the same opportunity she did to change the course of her life. "I like that the Sweetwater District was able to pay and send me an hour away to come here. Now that there are money issues with the economy, the schools aren’t sending as many students to good schools. I think that’s crazy – if someone needs a good education this school is a total guarantee you’re going to learn a lot."

While inspiration to succeed came easily in his new school, actual success took time and work on behalf of the student and his teachers. "I think that before I came to the Winston school I was not prepared to do work at all. I was not prepared to spend large amounts of time doing homework or essays," he said. "In 10th grade when I couldn’t even do homework I had a study skills period. Then I started getting homework and slowly learned how to do it."

By the time he started his junior year he no longer had the study skills class, which he admitted caused stress and anxiety, but he learned to break through the "mental block" holding him back. "The issues still bother me some – but even with a large amount of work I’ve learned to regulate it more. Just being here and being around people who are pushing me versus letting me get by has made all the difference."

He credits much of his success to the school’s individualized approach of teaching each student in ways each can learn instead of through some systemized process. "It takes a lot for information to get into my head and the teachers helped me with this by using gestures, writing on the board, and covering all the bases. Sometimes I got confused and the teachers took time to assess my problems with learning the material. They asked how they could make this easier to understand and they tried to teach it in a way I would understand." He added, "Sometimes I needed to hear things twice to process it. If I raised my hand at any time I got it repeated."

Matthew said he feels the Winston School has an advantage over public schools where the classes are so large that the teacher can’t answer all the questions. The Winston School’s small environment, he said has been a big help for him, especially with math. "Math is hard for me, I have trouble taking in all the different formulas – step after step. I do better when people go step-by-step. As soon as I have to do something multi-step it throws me off until I finally memorize all of those steps."

Matthew said the school has not only been instrumental in his achieving educational goals, but has motivated him to expand professional goals as well. "I’ve always wanted to be a writer since I was in kindergarten. I wrote stories since I could read and gave them chapters. Our teacher Jeff Kozlowski has made me feel it’s really possible for me to pursue a writing career. He’s also a writer and it’s really interesting to talk to him about his work and how to get published." Matthew also cited two other influential teachers. "Mr. (Ernie) Hartt because he taught both of my hardest classes – math and physics— and he could answer any question because he knows his subjects so well." And, Miss (Stephanie) Finkelberg, "Her drama class was very useful in getting me to express myself. I feel like I’m a really popular person at this school and the drama class has a lot to do with that. I express myself really well and I met a lot of friends in that class."

A star in some of the school’s plays, Matthew said his mom actually thought he might want to consider going further with a stage career and joining an acting troupe. "I think it would be pretty fun, but I’ve looked at how difficult it is to be a stage actor. There’s not a lot of credit and a lot of people want to do it. You end up looking for a role for months. Being a writer is hard enough – being an actor sounds harder." However, he said he might consider performing on stage as a hobby. "Acting is very fun and very natural to me. In my mind I can’t imagine having trouble being another person. I can’t imagine it ever being difficult."

For now, he said he’s focused on writing and recently finished a 68-page novella-length story inspired by horror films. "I don’t think I’m going to publish it – not because it’s bad, but due to the content isn’t very pleasant and I don’t want to be known by it. Perhaps if I become a famous writer I might do something with it." He said he is particularly inspired by writer Stephen King. "He started when we was young. He was actually 18 and just kept writing and writing. It’s amazing when you consider what he does and the amount of work he produces and all the feelings he puts into his characters." Other inspiring writers he said include Ursula K. Le Guin who "takes the fantasy genre and makes it respectable and philosophical" and Neil Gaiman who "has a great mind."

As Matthew says good-bye to his friends and teachers at The Winston School he is already a couple of steps ahead of many high school graduates because he knows what he wants and has a long-term plan to achieve it. After junior college he as his eyes set on the College of Santa Fe in New Mexico. "It’s known for having one of the best writing programs in the country and that’s where I want to be."