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Recipient: Shannon Adshade
School: Cassatta Cambridge, presently Shannon is teaching at Lutherwood
Number of Years Teaching: 17
Grade: all high school
Shannon Adshade has been teaching for 17 years. For the past 15 years he has been with section 20 which educates student who are in Care, Custody, Treatment or Alternative schools. This is Shannon's first year at Lutherwood, which is a day and residential treatment program. For the past several years, Shannon was working as the only teacher, at Cassatta, a detention custody facility.
Shannon quickly says that "this field is not for everybody BUT if you can make it, you can have a huge impact on kid's lives." He knows full well that kids who would normally not succeed in school need a place of help, positive interactions, encouragement and a place to find their strengths when the world sees them as "mostly weak". He knows that these kids are good kids who just haven't had the breaks and support others have and he strives to make a connection with them.
Shannon believes that an important element of his job is to show the students that you will listen and care about them because they are people just like others. If he can get to know what they enjoy, what motivates them and what frustrates them, then they will learn that they can trust him.
He loves his role and is motivated to continue when he hears from students five years after they have exited the program, saying "Thanks. I am now successful or I am now doing well."
Brenda, a mother of one of Shannon's students wrote this:
My son has changed so much due to the respect he had for Mr. Adshade at the Detention Centre. He had time one on one, which my son needed. He made my son feel important and that he could be what he wanted to be. Mr. Adshade gave my son the chance to think for himself and the Personal Life Management course was a step into my son's self-esteem.
Mr. Adshade is an honest, down to earth, caring person. He is highly educated and has such a love for kids. He's a concerned teacher who my son could open up to and not be afraid of experiencing new ideas. My son often felt that he was with a good friend, not just a teacher.
My son talked about his teacher with a smile on his face. My son was coming out of his shell and for the first time in a long time I saw a 16 year old that was coming back to me as my son, that for a while wasn't there.
