Many of our students have numerous challenges and roadblocks to overcome in order to graduate from high school. At the High Road School of Cecil County, we strive to help each student with individualized strategies to meet academic and behavioral goals, as well as help each student find a voice to advocate for themselves.

There is one student at the High Road School of Cecil County that has not only overcome a huge challenge, but has met this challenge with determination and a positive attitude which has led to an extremely successful school experience.

Cody Disabatino, a High Road senior, is very excited about his upcoming graduation at the end of this school year. Cody is visually impaired and must utilize alternative learning tools to access his education. Cody possesses a wonderful sense of humor and makes any classroom a little bit more fun with his jokes and good nature. Cody loves basketball, video games, and riding his bike. He is planning on attending Cecil Community College next year and studying graphic design. He has already scored extremely well on placement tests.

When Cody came to our school, he barely knew Braille and was very reluctant to work with teachers due to his anger and frustration. The first step for Cody was to work closely with his social worker to identify causes of his anger and work on utilizing positive coping skills during appropriate times. He began to make progress and started building good relationships with staff and students. The academic success followed the behavioral success and before he knew it, Cody started learning how to read Braille. Learning Braille is difficult and a lot like learning a new language. Cody was dedicated to focusing on this aspect of his education because he began to see results and understand the importance.

The High Road School of Cecil County, as well as the other High Road Schools in the Maryland North Region, couldn’t be more proud of Cody and his success. In celebration of his graduation and all of the overwhelming challenges he has overcome, the entire region has created a fund where staff and students can donate money to purchase a laptop and software to assist the visually impaired for Cody. This technology will help him immensely at his community college next year.

Cody is a great role model for our current and prospective students. Since his first day of school, he never let his disability get in the way of what he wanted and worked hard to get there. We are very proud of Cody and hope he continues to inspire those around him.