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Teacher Honor Roll: The Nominations
Honoree: Henry Sullivan, Beverly High School
Helping Students Turn a Corner
Pupils do not arrive in Henry Sullivan's alternative education classroom as wildly successful members of the Beverly High student body. They arrive as beneficiaries of a second bite from the apple, and Sullivan is the guy who asks them to make the most of it.
The world considers Sullivan's students to be "at-risk" kids. They are sent to him to repeat Grade 9 or because they didn't earn enough credits to complete Grade 10. But Sullivan, a Beverly native and a 1969 graduate of the high school, views these circumstances as an opportunity to make a difference.
"Most of these kids just need a chance," says Sullivan, 54, now in his eleventh year at Beverly High. "By that I mean, they need somebody to really listen to them. For a lot of these kids, what's going on outside school is extremely disruptive. School has got to be a safe place."
In a school with a population of 1,300, Sullivan makes his classroom a welcoming fellowship for the 15 or so alternative-education students in the building. The program's students are partially integrated with the mainstream student body but receive year-long English, history, and math instruction from Sullivan. "These are not special-education kids, they just have different needs," explains Sullivan. "I try to make the classroom a place they can use as home base. My classroom has to be comfortable. They're here because acclimating to high school was uncomfortable for them."
Sullivan, whose instructional sessions are half the duration of Beverly High's standard 84-minute class blocks, has more than met his primary mission. Alternative-education students gravitate to his classroom even when they are not scheduled to be there. So too do upperclassmen who have successfully passed through the program. About 20 veterans of the alternative education program stop in to Sullivan's classroom almost every day of the school year.
"Over time, you see the older kids passing on what it's all about to the kids still in the program," says Sullivan. "We do academics every day, and when it's time to work, it's time to focus."
By the same token, Sullivan's knack for connecting with and motivating his students without alienating them is arguably his greatest gift as a teacher.
"He helps them prioritize what's important and he communicates clear expectations," says Mark Thomas, Beverly High's School Adjustment Councilor. "But Henry is flexible with them. He's a father figure to a lot of them and they look for his approval. The kids want to work hard for him so they don't let him down."
The Nomination Letter
Until I met Mr. Henry Sullivan, I was looking at staying back in school. I had messed up in school and gotten in a lot of trouble. I was put in Mr. Sullivan's class. He has classes a lot smaller than most, and he gave me a lot of one-on-one help. He also made me feel motivated to come to class and to do well. He gave me advice on things other than just school. He gave me attention with my work, and he made me feel important and smart. He made me not want to screw up; that way I could be praised rather then scolded. He is still helping me, although, at the moment, I'm not even in his class. And to this day, he is working as hard as he can to make sure that I graduate. I honestly believe that if I was not put into Mr. Sullivan's class, I would have already stayed back and maybe be looking at dropping out. Instead I come to school every day, and I try as hard as I can just so he will know how much I appreciate his help and how important it is to me to make him proud. I know he has helped many students, and I don't know how many will nominate him, but I will, because he deserves it.
-Nicole Proctor, student
