Rise Triumph: Shamar Samuel’s Inspiring Path Back to District

Shamar Samuel came to the Rise Center for Success in his fifth-grade year. He started off in the Rise’s Academic program but moved in the MSITSP classroom. He spent two year’s learning at Rise before returning to his home district for the start of the 2024-2025 school year.

His teacher, Arianna Menard, credited Shamar’s success to the strong bond between the school and his family to help Shamar succeed. However, the biggest reason he thrived was because she saw him fully invest in the program and put in the work to be ready for a return to his home district at Saranac Central School.

“It was very scary,” Shamar’s mom, Jennifer Samuel, said. “I feel like special education has a label against it, but there’s more to it. This special education program offers a different way of learning. The mainstream way of learning might work for some students, but there’s another handful where that just doesn’t work.”

After realizing public school wasn’t a fit for Shamar, his mom tried other options for learning, like virtual learning and Four Winds. None of those option provided Shamar the environment he needed to grow, so she turned to the Rise Center.

“I had my reservations, but then I saw more of what the program offered, and I was all for it,” she said. “If public school isn’t working, let’s try an alternative.”

BECOMING A ROLE MODEL
When Shamar joined Menard’s Middle School Intensive Therapeutic Support Program (MSITSP), he struggled to open up in the restorative justice practices that is led in the classroom.

“We do a lot of Circle Ups, group and teamwork, but once he came around to it, he was really able to flourish throughout that time,” Menard said.

Shamar really shined during the Adventure-Based Counseling (ABC) activities. The class did activities like rock repelling, kayaking, hiking and fishing. By the middle of his second year, he had become a valuable member within the classroom community.

“I relied on him to help me with things like technology, and he had such a broad knowledge and background in a lot of topics we were talking about, but he took it a step further and was able to have thoughtful contributions,” Menard said.

According to Menard, Shamar was classified as the “cool kid” in the classroom, and his peers looked to him as an example. He showed other students that one can be fearless and cool, but one can also create a safe space for others to be vulnerable.

“You create this community where you’re safe and you can grow. You can grow academically, and you can grow socially. Shamar was an amazing example of that,” Menard said.

Shamar highlights that one can come into the Rise Center “not on a winning streak,” but with the correct supports and learning environment, one can thrive enough to go back in-district full time.

Shamar fully embraced the program by the end of his second year. After lots of conversations with his mom, Menard, faculty and Saranac, Shamar decided to go back to his home district.

“I just think it’s amazing to go from the most restrictive environment in our area to the least restrictive environment and to excel,” Menard said. And Shamar did just that. His eighth-grade year at Saranac has been nothing but successful.

IN-DISTRICT SUCCESS

In September, Shamar walked through the doors of Saranac Central School District. He was no longer a student at the Rise Center for Success. Despite some reservations
from his mom and Menard, Shamar made the decision to return full time.

“He was doing so well at Rise, so I didn’t want to remove him and bring him into a new environment, where I feel like he may fail,” Jennifer said. “But ultimately, I left it up to Shamar.”

One suggestion was to start with half days in-district, so he could slowly acclimate to the large classroom sizes and shifting of classrooms. However, Shamar wanted to take to
plunge. It was going to be all or nothing. Despite the concerns about adjusting, Shamar has done exceptionally well at his home district.

Shamar is a high honor roll student, which means he has maintained a grade point average of 3.5 or higher. He was also selected for a Principal’s Breakfast Award because of his exemplary status with the Saranac school community.

“I have no doubts that Shamar is going to be extremely successful in everything he does,”
Menard said. “I didn’t want to let him go as a student, but he was such an amazing
self-advocate and I’m sure he will go far.”

While he’s been excelling academically, he’s also been making new friends at his school. He found the adjustment to switching classes and the increased number of students around him happened seamlessly.

“When I think back to fifth grade, there was one version of Shamar coming into this program, and there was a different Shamar to exit it,” Jennifer said. “It’s like two separate people, but I think the alternate way of learning and the support he received truly helped him.”