I used to hate school. Not anymore.

To be honest, before I came to Elevated Futures, I thought school just wasn’t for me.

At my old school, it felt like I was always in trouble or just “the child who couldn’t keep up.” Every meeting, every conversation with teachers, was just a list of what I was doing wrong, what I was “bad at,” or how I was “failing to meet expectations.” I felt like I was a problem that needed to be fixed, and after a while, I just stopped trying.

The first week at Elevated Futures was weird. In my first conversation, they didn’t start with a list of my problems. The first thing they asked me was, “What are you good at?”

I didn’t know how to answer. No one had ever really asked me that before.

But we talked, and my teachers here helped me see that the things my old school called “distractions” were actually my strengths. They told me I had a “superpower” for logic and creative design (I love building complex worlds in games).

That’s what the Dynamic Development Plan (DDP) is. It’s not like my old, dusty IEP. My DDP is my plan. I’m actually in the meetings, and I help write my own goals.

And it’s not just about grades; it’s about everything. When I get overwhelmed or angry, it’s not an instant detention. My DDP has a goal for it. We talk about why I’m overwhelmed, and my teachers help me learn the skills to handle it. They understand that my behaviour is just me communicating that I’m struggling.

It’s the first time I’ve ever felt like my teachers are on my team.

I’m not “managing my problems” here. I’m using my “superpower” to help me with the stuff I find hard. For my Enterprise project, I’m using my design skills to build a 3D model, and it’s actually counting towards my accreditation.

I’m not just “a problem” at this school. I’m just me. And for the first time, that feels like it’s more than