Camelot Profile: Camelot Excel Academy’s Colby Chapman

Colby Chapman is the Behavioral Specialist for Camelot Excel Academy in Chicago, Illinois. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminology and Forensic Science. She earned a Masters in Science Education in Human Resource Development with an emphasis on Program Leadership, and she is a certified Para Professional, and CPR. She was born and raised in Harvey, Illinois, and joined Camelot Excel Academy in July of 2013.

As a Behavioral Specialist, how do you effect a positive behavioral change in students?

We at Camelot value the amount of time we spend with our students. Communicating with our students is as important as knowing how to minimize unnecessary situations. For me growing up in Harvey, Illinois at a nearby school we didn’t have the resources the students do now. At Camelot I try to mentor and connect my students with new opportunities that are available to them. So being open and listening to students allows me to meet the students where their needs need to be met.

At Camelot, do you provide supportive interventions for students? If so, how?

Yes, through a various amount of ways. We plan a lot events in and out of school.  Most recently was back in October with a group called HashtagLunchbag. This group makes sandwiches and distributes them throughout the community in Chicago, specifically in the downtown area, to homeless people. Partnering with this organization allowed me to connect students to do community service which felt rewarding and ultimately touched many lives. Partnership with community organizations allow the students to open up and have another insight on what is going on outside of their lives.

I also conduct an after-school program called Career Exceleration, “Hence the name excel”. In this program we meet for about an hour and we go over resumes and seek out other programs that are happening throughout the city. Job readiness is very important, specifically to our students, because we realize not every student is going to college. I try to show the value in going both to college and a technical career program. Additionally, I involve students in my not-for-profit

PennyUp that teaches students the importance and value of pennies through financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and job readiness.

How do you encourage a student’s development inside of the classroom?

Through a One-On-One interaction with a student you can then encourage them to develop inside and out. For instance through dialogue you may be up against a challenge where you both may not see eye to eye. But through that challenge a lesson also shines through giving the student the ammunition they need to succeed.  I like to encourage and motivate the students by sharing my experiences and relating it to them, so we can meet in the middle. I find new innovative ways to teach in the classroom. I like to teach using music and art because that is what is drives the students right now.

How has Camelot helped you to become a better educator?

Camelot has made me much more versatile.  When you teach here you realize there are a lot of situations that surround the students. Like different backgrounds, the communities they come, from makes you see things through another lens. Its mind blowing to me because some of the same instances I’ve seen back in the day still exist. An experience like this has allowed me to become a better educator because I’m still given a chance to learn and grow with the students every day.

Can you name a time when you motivated a student and the result was a positive one?

Certainly, a student last year who graduated from Camelot had a rough time in her personal life and in two specific classes. I mentored and encouraged this young lady in the areas she needed. Today, she attends my alma mater Southern Illinois University of Carbondale. She certainly has made a remarkable impact on my life, by seeing her progression happen effectively.

Name a situation at Camelot, where a student has taught you a lesson.

I learned a great deal about patience from one young man. He was the type of student who sometimes was a headache. At times he didn’t respect the guidelines Camelot upheld. With him I learned to nurture and understand the importance of not being so immediate but to take my time.