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The Beacon Spring 2018
Alumni Profile
Callie Toal ’18 Turning Disabilities into Gifts By Heather Pray, Director of Communications
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hroughout elementary school, Callie Toal ’18 knew she was different. When her classmates were reading, she would pretend to read. Instead of raising her hand to answer a question, she would remain silent. If homework needed to be turned in, she would say she lost it. All of that changed when she came to Windward. As Callie heads off to college next fall, she knows she will go with a firm foundation and the right tools to succeed. From pre-K to fourth grade, Callie attended a school where her ADHD created constant obstacles to her success. “She was never able to focus on one task, and she would jump from one thing to the next, even when telling stories,” her mother, Julie Leeds, recalls. Looking back, Callie remembers the impact that her early years of education had on her confidence: “I thought I was stupid or the other kids were smarter.” While her classmates were learning, a teacher suggested that Callie rub quarters together during class because “she thought it would help me focus and sit still.” Rather than contributing to class, the typically social and outgoing Callie became too nervous to participate. The atmosphere became so toxic that teachers threatened to stop teaching her because she wasn’t like the other students. Her self-esteem plummeted. “I had my name picked out to read a story, and as I struggled, I could see my teacher smirking and hear my classmates laughing,” she remembers. While her parents knew Callie had ADHD from the young age of three, her diagnosis of dyslexia was not made until second grade; and despite having a specialized tutor in third grade, Callie did not fully understand the meaning of her dyslexia diagnosis.
Callie’s parents had heard about Windward from good friends and decided that fifth grade would be a good time to transition Callie to a new school. Prior to beginning at Windward, Callie visited the school as part of the admissions process. “I remember visiting a language arts classroom, and they were ‘scooping words.’ Witnessing that process made reading seem so much easier. I knew then that this was going to be the right school for me,” she adds. Callie’s first day of school at Windward was the end of teachers not understanding her needs and peers laughing at her because she was different from them. There would be no more name-calling of “lazy,” “daydreamer,” “passive,” or “stupid.” She recalls, “When I arrived at Windward, I remember getting ready to read in class, and it occurred to me that everyone was the same as me. When I was called to read in class, no one laughed. The teachers wanted to stay and help me. I felt comfortable asking a question without someone thinking I was stupid.” That pivotal first day brought another momentous occasion for Callie and her family: a painless evening of doing homework. “When I came home from my first day of school, my parents asked me if I needed help. Homework was always a nightmare, but that evening I completed my homework all by myself. I didn’t need their help. The evening wasn’t a complete mess like it had been many nights before,” she remembers. Callie’s progress in learning strategies to succeed continued at Windward through eighth grade. Throughout her childhood, Callie had always participated in sports. “I played everything, and I’ve always been extremely competitive,” she remarks. While she participated in Windward’s soccer program in fifth grade, Callie Callie Toal ’18 will be attending Kenyon College to play soccer in Fall 2018.