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A hero among his peers
Patuxent High will always have a place for special needs graduate
Friday, June 19, 2009
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Dexter Mackall graduated from Patuxent High School this month.
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The "mayor" of Patuxent High School has left the building. But if his former teachers have any say in it, he'll be back.
On June 4 special needs student Dexter Mackall graduated from Patuxent High School in Lusby after making an impact on the school community that many say will be unsurpassed. Not only was the 21-year-old St. Leonard resident involved in numerous activities and classes, but he managed football, basketball and track teams, all while having perfect attendance.
"Dexter is very outgoing, so, even with his limitations, he always worked to his potential," said his mother Pamela Mackall, a teacher at Southern Middle School in Lusby. "He just always wanted to be involved in high school."
Though Dexter was born with heart problems, his actual disability has never been completely diagnosed, Pamela Mackall explained.
"We just say he has multiple disabilities," she said. "…Health-wise, he's doing very well now … his lungs aren't as healthy as they could be, but other than that he's doing really well. He didn't really have any medications at school this year."
The past year, she said, was a very active one for Dexter as he was splitting his time between Patuxent High, the Calvert Career Center in Prince Frederick and his part-time job at Giant Food in Lusby.
That did not, however, stop Patuxent High from planning an elaborate graduation party for Dexter last month at the school. It was organized by his special education teacher Susan Hammond.
"It was truly above and beyond the call of duty, but that's Mrs. Hammond. I was really not expecting it … but I'm so grateful that she did it," said Pamela Mackall, who said of Dexter's graduation, "Dexter had been planning and planning for years … and to see it finally happen, it's like all that is behind me now."
Dexter's Patuxent High School experience, however, might not be completely over, as Patuxent football coach and athletic director Steve Crounse is hoping to have Dexter back on the sidelines in September.
"He's always standing by me Friday night in the fall and he's just part of the family," said Crounse, adding that while the players watch out for and protect Dexter, "he doesn't take stuff from any of the boys and stands up for himself."
"… He has a heart of gold and I think he really likes being part of something … he's welcome on our sidelines forever," Crounse said.
Hammond said that Dexter has earned his nickname "the mayor" of Patuxent High School due to his friendly nature and involvement in activities.
"He was a highly visible, well known and well liked young man. And that goes for the teachers too," said Hammond, who has known Dexter for seven years as both a nurse and a teacher.
As for Dexter himself, he said that his favorite part of school was "working with other people."
His least favorite: "being in one place the whole day."
Dexter said that he initially became involved with extra-curricular activities including Best Buddies, Math Engineering and Science Achievement or MESA and Special Olympics and sports because, "I knew I didn't have to go home and be bored."
He was particularly proud of having more than a decade of perfect attendance, an honor his brother, Larry Mackall, also achieved.
"Attending school is an important thing. As a teacher I know that you have to be there to learn what's being taught," Pamela Mackall said, adding that her job also gave her some additional resources as a parent.
"Because I know where to ask questions, I think Dexter got the best of both worlds … as far as regular education and special education."
