How Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown inspired kids from his high-school alma mater to get their test scores up

https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2020/02/how-boston-celtics-jaylen-brown-inspired-kids-from-his-high-school-alma-mater-to-get-their-test-scores-up.html



How Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown inspired kids from his high-school alma mater to get their test scores up




Updated 7:58 AM; Today 7:00 AM




Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) in action during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Miami Heat, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2020, in Miami. Boston won 109-101. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)AP



By Tom Westerholm | twesterh@masslive.com



ATLANTA -- In the fall of 2019, Paul Gillihan -- principal of Wheeler High School in Marietta, GA -- and reading teacher Amy Mueller had a problem: A number of incoming freshmen students were behind as readers and needed to improve their test scores.

Gillihan and Mueller put their heads together, and Gillihan had an idea: What if the students in the Read 180 program who raised their test scores to a certain level were afforded an opportunity to attend an NBA game, where the player whose quotes are plastered all over the walls at Wheeler was playing?

So Gillihan went about setting up an event in which the students from the Read 180 would attend Monday’s Atlanta Hawks game against the Boston Celtics, where Jaylen Brown would take the court. The school acquired 50 tickets in hopes the students would show the requisite gains, and Gillihan reached out to Brown through Desmond Eastmond -- Brown’s longtime trainer -- to see if Brown was willing to meet the kids and sign some autographs before the game.

He was, which came as little surprise to Lisa Beville -- the school’s head custodian who witnessed Brown’s time at Wheeler first-hand.

“He was very, very smart (during his time at Wheeler), and he was very about all kids, all the time, helping everybody out," Beville said. “He wanted to change the world helping the underprivileged.”

So the school brought the news to the Read 180 students, who -- when informed of the potential payoff -- were thrilled.

“It was definitely a huge motivator, doing exactly what they need to do,” Mueller said. “A lot of times when kids have lower reading levels, that means they are reluctant to read. So having this additional motivation made a big difference, and we saw the difference.”

The difference showed up in the test scores -- 31 students showed “huge” gains, according to Gillihan. Students were expected to pass the class with sufficient grades, and they had to complete the requisite software modules. As the year progressed, the students attacked those goals enthusiastically, and Mueller was delighted.

“It’s actually funny because whenever they finished a module, they’d be like, ‘Look! I’m one step closer, I’m one step closer,’” Mueller said. “But this particular group of kids, they’re the most kind-hearted, genuinely pure souls. They’re not just excellent academically, they’re just excellent individuals, each and every single one of them. So creative, so brilliant in their own individual way.”

On Monday, the 21 students who were able to get their permission slips signed to attend the game hopped into vans and drove to Atlanta. For some, it was their first time in the city experiencing a Hawks game and Centennial Park -- the site of the 1996 Olympic Games. Just after 5:15 p.m., earlier than most fans are allowed into the arena, the students filed down the steps of the lower bowl to get their chance to meet Brown.


Courtney Jackson, a junior, said she was nervous.

“I have this weird thing with celebrities,” she said. “I’m that one person in the crowd that would probably faint looking at him.”

About an hour and a half before the game, Brown came out for warm ups. He waved to the kids, greeted several of the adults warmly, and began signing autographs. Some proffered shoes, others handed him shirts, still others jean jackets. One brought a Kobe Bryant jersey. Brown shook hands and took pictures. The kids left grinning.

“He has a pretty smile,” Jackson said after Brown signed her shirt.

Jahmad Granville, a freshman point guard at Wheeler, referenced Brown’s recent dunk on Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James and said Brown is an inspiration to him.

“I’ve never been on an NBA court or met an NBA player, so I’m really excited," Granville said. "But I just want to keep my mind focused so I can be on that court one day myself.”

On one of the walls at Wheeler, a quote from Brown (which Gillihan verified with Brown to make sure he actually said it) is painted in huge letters down the hall.


“I want to understand everything so I can put myself in a position to be successful,” it reads, with smaller letters underneath that say, “Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics - Wheeler Class of 2015.”


Wheeler High School
Photo courtesy of Paul Gillihan.


Around Wheeler, Brown remains a major figure.

“You walk into the building, his picture is plastered on the wall, his quotes that he has said are right outside the lunch room,” Mueller said. “When you walk into our arena, (he’s) the first thing you see when you walk in. He’s definitely made an impact on our school.”

Brown said he enjoyed meeting the kids, and he wants to continue to use his profile to inspire.

“I’m going to try to do that more often, create opportunities for people to get to see things outside of the neighborhood,” Brown said. “For those kids to get to come to the game because of their test scores and stuff, I want them to keep that up.”

After Brown finished signing autographs, Gillihan shook his hand.

“Let’s talk education this summer?” Gillihan said, and Brown nodded.

Gillihan hopes to have Brown help with a curriculum for the school.

“Something that we can use for our kids,” he said. “I feel we need to tap into the students and their passions. Wheeler is a magnet school. Kids all over our county apply to come to our school for science, technology, engineering, math. And these are kids that are passionate about it, and they excel at that. But then the other kids that are districted, we don’t reach into their passions. Their passion may be dance, or it may be theater, or it may be band or baseball. If we can figure out a curriculum that ties into what they’re passionate about, the kids will be successful.”


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MY NOTE:  Speaking as the son of two schoolteachers and the nephew of another I absolutely love Jaylen Brown, the man.


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