CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – At the beginning of her junior year at Northwest High School, Lanya Costello was on probation.
“I would skip class every day, and I wouldn’t be in tune with school,” Lanya told Clarksville Now. “I was the type of kid that, if I felt like I was being disrespected by even a teacher or anybody, I would just react like that.”
One teacher who seemed able to reach her was Melissa Smith, from Spanish class. “Even me and Mrs. Smith had some incidents, but not too bad.”
One day, Lanya and Smith sat down for a serious conversation, and Smith told her she didn’t need to be so aggressive, and she could instead direct the care in her heart toward other people. Lanya was faced with a choice: keep up her bad habits or figure out a plan to break the cycle.
Smith mentioned that Spanish Club offered something that Lanya could work toward. As that club has grow into a new program called S4, Lanya has grown with it, learning how to serve, how to rally and unify a crowd, and how to be a smiling face to others.
“She (Smith) doesn’t want us to succeed,” Lanya said. “She needs us to succeed.”
S4, short for Students Supporting Student Success, is an after-school program that is changing the lives of students at Northwest High. Students who were failing classes, not getting enough credits to graduate, serving on probation, and dealing with debilitating social anxiety have made a turnaround through S4.
Now, Smith is appealing to the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System to implement S4 across the district. And she has gone as far as offering a $50,000 check to help make it happen.
What is S4?
Born out of Northwest with the efforts of Smith and her Spanish Club, S4 was created to address disengagement among students. The aim of the club is to motivate and involve these students by providing opportunities for them to improve their schools and community. Currently, S4 has 100 students at Northwest.
Smith, who has been teaching at CMCSS for five years, is pursuing her doctoral degree Austin Peay State University. The concept of S4 came from her doctoral research and a desire to give back to the community. What started as Spanish Club morphed into S4, and Smith said the name change happened because “Spanish Club” was limiting.
“This program has the potential to build future leaders, provide positive peer mentorship, engage our kids and provide access and equity for younger kids,” Smith said.
The main objective is to empower students by connecting classroom learning with real-world experiences. Smith said this is achieved through teaching and mentoring younger students in public places like libraries and recreational centers, as well as in elementary and middle schools. The approach is designed to be interactive and enjoyable, focusing on subjects like coding, robotics and languages.
S4 operates through three main types of activities: club events, school events and community events, each serving a different purpose and location.
Club events involve activities within S4 itself, focused on fostering skills like creativity, critical thinking, collaboration and communication. School events are centered on benefiting local elementary and middle schools, as well as libraries and recreational centers.
Overcoming social anxiety
Alexis Lee was so introverted, she couldn’t even talk to her classmates. She would hide in the bathroom for several minutes to try to calm down before doing group work or giving a presentation. “In the beginning of the school year, when we had to group work, I would literally just pass notes,” Alexis said. “She (Smith) would tell us, ‘Y’all need to talk,’ and I would give her the most horrified look.”
Now, with all of the events at the library that Alexis has been part of, her shyness is a thing of the past. “I’m comfortable with public speaking,” she told Clarksville Now. “I’ve also gained a lot of leadership skills. I used to be a follower, but now I’m able to guide myself and guide others through S4.”
After she joined the S4 club, her grandmother, Teresa Ray, saw Alexis’ transformation and said, “It’s been amazing.
“She’s come out of her shell,” Ray said. “She’s more assertive and she’s not as shy as she used to be. This program has just been wonderful. Seeing Alexis come out of her shell has been the biggest plus for me.”
Push to offer S4 across CMCSS
Smith and her students believe that S4 has the ability to help and inspire students across CMCSS, not just Northwest. So, they took to the School Board meeting on March 26 to present the idea before the board, with one eye-catching caveat.
Smith, who expressed frustration that CMCSS hasn’t agreed to roll out S4 districtwide, told the board that leadership is service and vice versa: students need to be taught how to serve if they are going to lead.
“This is drastic, but here it is,” Smith told the board, taking a deep breath before she held up a check. “Here’s a check for $50,000. I will fund the program myself the same way I’ve been funding the two programs at the library and the Kleeman Center.”
NEWS TIPS: Do you have a local news tip? Email news@clarksvillenow.com or call us at 931-648-7720.
“That is how much I believe in this,” Smith told Clarksville Now. “There is an old saying that it takes a village to raise our children, so today, I am calling on that village. Will you become an S4 partner and support our students’ success?”
Other service-learning programs
CMCSS spokesman Anthony Johnson told Clarksville Now that the program appears to have merit, and money isn’t the issue. The reason CMCSS hasn’t rolled out S4 districtwide is that CMCSS doesn’t create or mandate school-based after-school programs, he said.
“These are school-based decisions,” he said, adding that teachers who are interested in developing new clubs are welcome to, with the approval of their principals. “If other schools are interested in participating (in S4), they could do so, too,” Johnson said.
He pointed out that while CMCSS doesn’t discourage additional programs, many other service-learning and youth leadership programs are already offered at the schools. He provided several examples, among them JROTC with nearly 1,400 students enrolled, Future Farmers of America, Youth Leadership Clarksville and others.
Chris Smith contributed to this report.
DON’T MISS A STORY: Sign up for the free daily Clarksville Now email newsletter