With Opportunity Comes Success

Students in Ms. Rich’s class act like most 6-year-olds. They love computers, play with Legos and never pass up the opportunity to pretend like they are super-heroes on a mission to save the world. They laugh. They cry. They are affectionate and give hugs.

Then, all of a sudden something changes. They begin to yell, they hit, they kick and they scream; and no one really knows why.

There are many ways a teacher surrounded by students who suffer from emotional disturbance can view his or her job. For some, it’s viewed as a challenge that comes with stress and frustration.

For Ms. Rich, it’s a great opportunity.

Lauren Rich is Lawndale’s newest No Opportunity Wasted (NOW) teacher; and she knows that trust, a strong set of rules and a phenomenal attitude will take her and her students anywhere they want to go.

Her key to success as a brand new NOW teacher is developing a relationship with her students that is built on trust and respect.

“These students need to realize there are consequences in life,” said Rich. “They also need to know they can come to me for anything.”

Through a very structured set of curriculum, the NOW program is working to help students achieve success who are not otherwise doing so in the everyday classroom.

Daily, students are reminded they must follow the rules in order to earn privileges like attending gym class or visiting the library to watch a movie. 

Rich, who currently has two kindergartners in her class, is hoping to use positive reinforcement to help her students make the right decisions, every day.

“We provide intervention that bonds success,” said Rich. “The best feeling is when children can walk out of this classroom feeling good about themselves.”

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