Teacher Appreciation Week: She Got ‘Kicked Out’ In 8th Grade — Now She Runs The School As Athletic Director
Kayla McClellan was expelled in grade 8 for poor grades and bad behavior. Now she gives students the same support that helped change her life. The post Teacher Appreciation Week: She Got ‘Kicked Out’ In 8th Grade — Now She Runs The School As Athletic Director appeared first on MadameNoire.
Black News 
After being “kicked out” of Lincoln College Preparatory Academy Middle School in eighth grade for poor grades and bad behavior, Kayla McClellan, now 32, has returned as a teacher to help motivate students.
“You never want to be the person who discouraged a kid,” she told PEOPLE.
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The Missouri educator admits that she was a less-than-motivated student at the time she was expelled.
“I was there to socialize, have a good time,” she recalled. “In eighth grade, my grades were not cutting it. My behavior was all over the place, and I ended up getting kicked out.”
After being expelled, McClellan enrolled at a local charter school, where she graduated, however, not without challenges. She says that even though she was “very smart,” she still did not see herself as “an academic” and did not always apply herself.
But with the support of her family and motivation from some teachers, she says she was able to find a new path. So when it was time to apply for college, McClellan’s mother stressed that this was her opportunity to start anew, advising her daughter: “‘This is your last chance, so make it count,’ my mom told me. ‘Choose a school and start over.’”
Grambling State University in Louisiana was her post-secondary school choice, where McClellan also joined the cheerleading team. Here, she said things “felt different,” and added that the educators were “invested” in her.
“It just changed the trajectory of my life,” she shared.
The post Teacher Appreciation Week: She Got ‘Kicked Out’ In 8th Grade — Now She Runs The School As Athletic Director appeared first on MadameNoire.
