Alex Russell entered Rebound Community Day School during his 9th grade year in 2005. He was a young man who had a history of truancy and his grades suffered as a result. When he first started attending our CDS he still had an attendance problem. When staff would approach Alex, he would have such a negative attitude about school that we almost did not want to engage him for fear that he would escalate things and cause some chaos in the classroom. However, we continued to encourage Alex and since he lived so close to our school, I offered to pick him up before school so that I could guarantee that he would be at school. Alex agreed and his attitude began to improve even more. He began to be very conscientious about his work. He took his time and he made sure that he completed every problem. If he wasn't sure where to find an answer, he would raise his hand to ask for assistance. It was obvious that Alex was learning how to be a successful student. By the end of the school year, Alex was a model student and he earned his transition to the comprehensive high school. Alex started the school year off and I would track his attendance and I noticed that he had near perfect attendance. Then the grades were posted. He had As and Bs. Alex was performing at a level well above the average kid in the school. One semester went to two and then to the point we are at now. Alex is a senior and he continues to excel at the main campus. He was even honored by the Exchange Club as Student of the Quarter. In addition, Alex is a member of the PAL (Police Activities League) basketball team, a team that he has been part of for three years. For the growth that I have seen in Alex, he definitely deserves to be honored as Community Day School Student of the Year.