Middletown High School Senior Rises To, Surpasses Challenge

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Middletown High School Senior Rises To, Surpasses Challenge

http://www.courant.com/news/education/hc-middletown-student-profile-20100613,0,3\

586265.story

Zachary Capitao, a senior at Middletown High School, will be graduating and

attending American University in Washington DC in the fall. He has a

degenerative disease that caused his muscles to deteriorate and confined him to

a wheelchair. (Bettina Hansen, Hartford Courant / June 14, 2010)

IDDLETOWN — — When he graduates from Middletown High School later this month,

Zackary Capitao will have much to celebrate, including his name on the honor

roll every year during high school and the chance to study physics and math at

the college of his choice — American University in Washington, D.C.

But good grades were not always part of the 17-year-old's educational

experience. Born with the degenerative neuromuscular disease

Charcot-Marie-Tooth, which causes a loss of muscle tissue and touch sensation in

the feet, hands, arms and legs, Zackary said he was placed in behavioral classes

in elementary and middle school so that the aide assigned to help him could also

help other students with special needs.

" I was really bored and got Cs and Ds, " said Zackary, who can walk but uses a

wheelchair for easier mobility.

His boredom ended in eighth grade when Zackary and the grandparents who raised

him moved to Poland, where his engineer grandfather was sent to set up jet

engine test sites for Pratt & Whitney. During their three years there, Zackary

flourished academically and socially. He participated in an improvisation-style

drama group, learned Polish and joined the Model United Nations club. Through

the club, he traveled to Cairo, met " nice people, ate good food " and immersed

himself in another favorite subject — history. He also embraced Poland's passion

for soccer — a sport he once enjoyed playing — by managing and recording

statistics for his school's soccer team.

" When I moved to Poland, they really raised the bar for me, " he said of his

classes and the supportive acceptance of his teachers and classmates. " Which

allowed me to do really well. "

When the family returned to Middletown, Zackary's grandmother urged the high

school administration to provide him with the same level of education he

experienced in Poland. His grandparents, he says, are his champions.

" When I was in fifth grade, my doctor suggested that they take me out of school

to improve my standard of living, " he said. " My grandparents didn't want that,

they fought for me … to get me things I needed over a school year — an aide to

help me, PowerPoint notes printed out ,if possible, and extended time for tests

and homework, if needed. "

Such support helps to level his academic playing field, his guidance counselor

told him, and is especially necessary as the progression of his disease further

limits his mobility.

" My hands have been getting worse, " he said. " But I have found ways to get

around that. My teachers have been really great. "

His teachers describe Zackary as an inquisitive, hard-working and happy student

who is sure to excel in whatever he puts his mind to.

" He's the type from the moment he got in here, he was asking me about quantum

mechanics and black holes, " said Zackary's physics teacher Judy Kalinowski. " He

was like a sponge and all the while, I'm teaching the basics, trying to keep up

with him. "

As in Poland, Zackary joined Middletown High's soccer team as its manager and

participates in many clubs and activities. This includes the drama club, for

which he builds sets and lighting, and the minority student coalition, through

which he helps to raise awareness about social issues, including his own as a

person with physical challenges.

" He's a remarkable student, whose disability hasn't held him back, " said Bill

Siebert, Zackary's AP U.S. history teacher and soccer club manager. " He's taken

advantage of all the opportunities available to him. "