Room A124 has, for a long time, been the place where students go to serve in-school suspensions. But it’s not called the ISS room anymore, and it’s got a new teacher: Frank Albrecht, more commonly known as Brother Albrecht. 

 

“I don’t think Dr. Reese was taking a gamble of putting me down here, but he was thinking outside of the box,” said Albrecht. His goal is to prompt students with in-school suspensions to focus more on reflection and how they can improve in the future. Thus, the room’s new name: the McCaskey Reflection Center. 

 

Students in the MRC have to complete a grade and attendance evaluation, as well as fill out a reflection sheet when they arrive. “I try to level with the students and help them understand why they got here,” said Albrecht. “So instead of them just answering questions on an iPad, when they come in, I like a face-to-face.”

 

Albrecht doesn’t believe that students who end up in the MRC are any different than anyone else. “Each person is in here because they were not in the right place, at the right time, doing the right thing,” Albrecht said. “It has nothing to do with them being bad people, because they’re all great young people.”

 

In the month of October, there were 240 students in the MRC. Albrecht hopes that number will eventually be zero, but it may take a while to reach everyone. 

 

“With a lot of people, I try to get them thinking about an extracurricular activity they could get involved in,” Albrecht continued. “I get them physical forms, I text their parents, I communicate with the coaches, and that raises the possibility that they will never come back here again for the reason that they came down here before.” Specific reasons for students ending up in the MRC include skipping lunch to go to McDonald’s, vaping, and skipping class. 

 

But brother Albrecht doesn’t oversee the MRC alone. Linda Parker, a former administrative assistant, has worked as Albrecht’s assistant since the beginning of the year. “I love working with students and teachers,” said Parker. “When the students come here, they’re upset. So it’s nice to try to talk to them and reason with them and get them to understand [that] we’re here to help and we want to see them make positive changes.”

 

Parker takes care of all of the bookwork, from logging students in to communicating with teachers and administrators. “She keeps me from getting a heart attack,” Albrecht said, chuckling.

 

Building Assistant Brenda Jones is even newer to the MRC. Her first day in A124 was on Monday, November 14, and she has a vision for the Reflection Center that transcends A124’s walls. 

 

“It shouldn’t just stay here…I think it needs to be incorporated into school, even if you just have it the last or the first 15 minutes at the beginning of the day,” Jones said. She expressed a desire for a school-wide standard of reflection that would outlast Albrecht’s time at the school, adding that it would positively impact student mental health and decrease the number of students sent to the MRC.

 

“It is beautiful to work in here,” said Albrecht. “With every single young person,  I look ‘em right in the eyes and say, ‘your brain is as powerful as mine, Miss Linda’s,  Dr. Reese’s. You’ve got a very powerful brain.’”

 

For Brother Albrecht, his job will only be done when there’s no need for a McCaskey Reflection Center. But until then, he’s proud of what he’s worked with administration and staff to accomplish.

 

“I just think it’s good if all humans reflect and evaluate. So I have a sense of satisfaction and maybe a little pride, but I don’t think it’s really me… It’s a whole team of people and administration. I’m one of the servants to people, so I do feel a sense of satisfaction that people are engaging in reflecting.”