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"The best way to describe the start of high school for Maggie McDaniel would be rocky," Graduation Specialist Alyson Cramer shares. "As a freshman, Maggie transferred between schools and failed multiple classes. As she fell further behind, she began struggling to find the motivation to show up and give it her all every day. Maggie’s first year in high school left her with a mere two and a half credits."
Sophomore year didn’t begin much better. At Christmas break, Maggie had only passed one out of four classes, though her failing grades showed significant improvement over the previous year’s. With help from Ms.Cramer, she began to work on overcoming the bad habits of spotty attendance, lack of participation in class, and not completing assignments. Second semester brought about a whole new perspective. Through consistent check-ins, routine missing work lists, reminders about student/teacher communication, and hours of after school tutoring, Maggie began to realize the fruit of her labor as her grades steadily climbed.
"The groundwork laid last year has been vital to her success this semester," Ms. Cramer says. "She has been faced with even greater obstacles in the past couple months, as her grandmother passed and another immediate family member is struggling with a serious illness. Most people would retreat and give up in the face of such adversity, but Maggie has persevered and has adopted a much more positive outlook on her education." Knowing she has a support system in place while at school, and the tools she needs to be successful in her education, she is maintaining passing grades in all of her classes and is slated to complete an additional credit through the unit recovery program at Winder-Barrow High School.
Not only has Maggie turned a corner academically, but she is finding her voice and has created a way to share her passion with others. Her passion and talent lies in photography, so she has spearheaded a new photography club and is currently leading others in the pursuit of this artform as well.
Ms. Niedzwiecki has had the privilege of teaching Maggie over the past two years and seeing these changes first hand. She notes, "Maggie has really embraced a greater sense of personal responsibility when it comes to her education. She is conscientious about getting her work done and using her time more effectively at school. Maggie has seemed more positive and eager to work on assignments- not just to 'get them done,' but to actually demonstrate her understanding of material. Maggie has a great deal to offer in class discussions and to the overall classroom climate. I've been so fortunate to have the opportunity to see her maturing as a student." Ms. Niedzwiecki’s comments come as no surprise, as it is obvious Maggie has matured from a struggling young student with little direction to a more confident student dedicated to helping other students find their own path to success. She says, “I don’t mind if others know my story, and about my struggles, if it helps them avoid the same mistakes and motivates them to do their best in school."
Hard working, motivated, driven, relentless, and leader are now all words that describe Maggie McDaniel. We are so proud of the intrinsic motivation she has now found and is putting into action. Celebrating an on-time graduation May 2024 is something Maggie and her family are now looking forward to experiencing.
We are proud of our students who are on the “Grad Track.” A Grad Track student has either failed one or more academic classes and/or is behind in credits needed for graduation with their cohort class. Graduation Specialists at all three Barrow County School System (BCSS) high schools support students who meet these qualifications.