| One Student's Success Story |
 Anna was a 9th grade student at Killough Lewisville High School North. She was recommended to the CISNT program by the school counselor for behavior issues and social service needs. She worked with Janice Eichelberger, Program Manager at Killough LHS North during the 2009-2010 school year. Below is her story in her own words."My name is Anna and I was a ninth grader at Killough Lewisville High North. I learned about Communities and Schools of North Texas in my third week of school. I was having trouble in one of my classes. I was falling asleep in class and not doing any work. I was really falling behind, but then I met Ms. Eichelberger. She met with me and explained to me what C.I.S. was and she encouraged me to join. She told me that it would help me out a lot and help keep me on track. "At first, I didn’t believe her, but after a few meetings I started to open up. She paired me up with a mentor, Ms. Andrea. Being new to the Lewisville school district I didn’t have any friends. That made it difficult for me to come to school. I disliked coming to school for awhile, but eventually I made some friends. Having a mentor also made coming to school easier for me because it gave me something to look forward to. My mentor was always encouraging me to improve my attendance. "I didn’t exactly want to keep going to school but I tried. One of the biggest reasons why I disliked school was because I was afraid to trust people and I was always afraid of being put down and hurt. When I was little, maybe about 10 or 11 years old my father hurt me really bad. He was very abusive both physically and emotionally. He was one of the reasons why I grew up being scared of almost everything. But coming here and being in CIS taught me to trust, fight, and not to be afraid of anyone or anything. "Before I met Ms. Eichelberger I was quiet and didn’t have any trust in people or anyone to talk to. I talked to her about almost anything. I remember her getting me out of my class because I was always coming to school with passion marks all over my neck. She explained to me that it looked bad and that I should only be concentrating on school and not boys. "For awhile, I was doing well, but then I slipped again and made a big mistake. I ended up getting pregnant. I was so scared. I didn’t know what I was going to do or who I was going to talk to, but eventually I decided to tell Ms. Eichelberger. At first I thought she was going to kill me but gladly she didn’t. She didn’t judge me at all even though she was disappointed. She sat me down and talked to me. She even called a place and helped me get a pregnancy test to make sure it was accurate. Once everything was confirmed and I decided on what I was going to do with the baby, she encouraged me to stay in school. Even though I had a lot of drawbacks and complications in school during my pregnancy I still passed on to the tenth grade. I couldn’t have done it without all the support and encouragement from Ms. Eichelberger, Ms. Andrea and my school. "Ms. Eichelberger not only helped me with that, she helped me and my family with Thanksgiving and Christmas. My family has never had much money for holidays, but Ms. Eichelberger gave my family the “Best” Thanksgiving and Christmas ever. I’m very glad Ms. Eichelberger got me involved in CIS. She has changed my life a lot and I am very thankful for that. "I wish she could continue working with me until I graduate, but I’m at the main campus now. I will encourage students who need support to join the CIS program. You can trust and count on them to help you succeed in school and in life!" |
