Vaughn is now a seventh-grade student at Oak Hill Academy, and his seven years at Oak Hill have been a time of tremendous growth and development. When Vaughn first enrolled at Oak Hill, he was timid, struggled with both speech and motor skills (having been described by former teachers as unintelligible), and had a hard time making friends.
Thanks to OHA’s expert speech-language therapists, nurturing teachers and inclusive sports programming, Vaughn has developed into a confident and communicative student and an enthusiastic participant on Oak Hill’s soccer, basketball and track teams.
“When I first started working with Vaughn, his severe speech disorder made it hard for him to find his voice. Now, he’s not only speaking with clarity, he’s speaking with confidence! Vaughn is a leader in the classroom, thriving in team sports, and excited to see his peers every day. Watching his growth in communication, academics and friendships has been extraordinary. It is evident he now walks into each day believing in himself!”
—Sarah Henderson, Vaughn’s speech therapist
at Oak Hill Academy
Ginger Kamm, Oak Hill’s longtime physical education teacher and athletic director, has seen Vaughn grow from disliking contact sports to becoming a team leader, in addition to being a top scorer in soccer and one of the fastest on the field.
Vaughn was recently recognized as The Sandlot Children’s Charity’s Junior MVP Award winner for exemplifying the heart of sport and his outstanding sportsmanship and leadership on the field, court and track.
Vaughn’s parents credit his success to the vast support system at Oak Hill and their son’s work ethic. “Oak Hill Academy welcomed Vaughn with open arms. His first day of school included a new group of friends, caring teachers and the services that started his amazing path of success at Oak Hill,” said Vaughn’s dad, Michael. Vaughn’s journey is just one of the stories of student transformation happening on the Oak Hill Academy campus each day.
