New Hope High School's Joel Plasencio, recognizing Kimberly Payne: “I was not too good at ‘normal’ high school. I believe I was in the bottom 50 percent, if not lower. I would either sit alone, or with my sister, at lunch about every day. I almost never did homework, and the only club or elective I was really active in was jazz. I do not resent or despise ‘normal’ high school. It is not bad, just bad for people like me. Once I was lucky enough to be put into New Hope, my grades shot up. I no longer sat alone at lunch, and I was active in every club I could find time for. I am also thrilled to have had the opportunity to meet Kimberly Payne. Someone who looked at me as more than a statistic or sloth and genuinely guided me through defining who I am as an individual. She helped me realize how much I value things like empathy, individuality and listening with intent. She made this time of stress and hardships into a time of growth and understanding. We need to have more funding for, and more schools like, New Hope, for there is so much unrealized potential being pushed into a box. And it is people like Kimberly Payne who can help us squeeze out and become more than a low tier number. Thank you.”
Rouse High School senior Brenton Schaefer, recognizing Max Lee: “Teaching high schoolers who are at the edge of childhood and the brink of adulthood, while encouraging development of individual opinions about government, history and the world, during a polarized political era, surrounding a presidential election year, may prove to be a difficult task, but not for Mr. Lee. He has been my AP U.S. History and AP U.S. Government teacher for the last two years. While I formed my own standards, opinions and beliefs, while learning the past, present and future of our country, Mr. Lee’s objective teaching style created a safe place for students to learn and grow with individuality, while tackling everything that history and government covers – politics, race, religion and economics. At the exact time high schoolers are finding their identity, teachers can easily influence beliefs, but I still have no idea Mr. Lee’s political or religious affiliation, making him stand out as my most influential teacher at Rouse High School. Mr. Lee has my respect for inspiring me to work toward my potential, while gently mentoring me to find an identity and to consider my impact on the world in my future schooling and career choice– always holding up the Leander ISD 10 Ethical Principles that guided me my entire schooling career.”
