Pattonville High School refers to its marching band as “The Pride of Pattonville,” due in part to the effort, dedication and excellence that band members must have. Zachary Correa, a sophomore at Pattonville High, possesses all of these characteristics and more. Along with being a successful student with a 3.68 GPA, he is an active trumpet player in the marching band. But no matter what he’s doing, you can be sure you’re going to get his best effort.

As a student receiving special education services, Zachary is actively learning how to learn in ways that work for him as a student with a disability and a strong learning preference for visual learning. For example, he shared with his speech-language pathologist Victoria Carlson-Casaregola how he watches YouTube history videos on his own because he enjoys the subject and it helps him in his learning.

“He is involved with his learning in ways that show that he is taking charge of his education and learning to do what we so often encourage special education students to do: to understand themselves as learners and as individuals, to make the most of their strengths while managing their disabilities and to persevere to meet higher standards of personal excellence while being involved with their school as full members of that student body,” Carlson-Casaregola said.

If the “Pride of Pattonville” requires effort, dedication and excellence, then Zachary Correa certainly has good reason to be proud.