Andrew Cassiday says people think he needs help because he uses a wheelchair. As a Tutor-Mentor, he appreciated the opportunities to provide help.
He originally thought he’d be helping in Kitty Blattner’s One City School’s second-grade classroom for a few hours a day through the summer, but he decided to attend from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“The experience was amazing,” says his mother, Amy, who has taught for 18 years. “I know of no other program where students can be consistently mentored by a teacher. Root 2 Rise instills confidence and a ove of education.”
“I can’t think of a reason why a student wouldn’t be involved with Root 2 Rise. The kids just loved Andrew. He was a real trooper,” Blattner says.
“The kids bonded with me more than they might have with others because they knew I understood what it was like to go through difficult times,” says Andrew, who uses a wheelchair due to spina bifida.

Andrew relished helping instead of being viewed as someone who might need help.
He also enjoyed the “unfiltered” questions students asked about his disability, which most people don’t ask because they’re afraid of offending him.

“He was such a natural,” says his mother. “A career in education now might be in his future, a possibility neither of us expected.”