Teacher Appreciation Day: From 'Kicked Out' To In Charge

After being “kicked out” of Lincoln College Preparatory Academy Middle School in eighth grade for poor grades and bad behavior, Kayla McClellan, now 32, has returned as a teacher to help motivate students.

“You never want to be the person who discouraged a kid,” she told PEOPLE.

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The Missouri educator admits that she was a less-than-motivated student at the time she was expelled.

“I was there to socialize, have a good time,” she recalled. “In eighth grade, my grades were not cutting it. My behavior was all over the place, and I ended up getting kicked out.”

After being expelled, McClellan enrolled at a local charter school, where she graduated, however, not without challenges. She says that even though she was “very smart,” she still did not see herself as “an academic” and did not always apply herself.

But with the support of her family and motivation from some teachers, she says she was able to find a new path. So when it was time to apply for college, McClellan’s mother stressed that this was her opportunity to start anew, advising her daughter: “‘This is your last chance, so make it count,’ my mom told me. ‘Choose a school and start over.’”

Grambling State University in Louisiana was her post-secondary school choice, where McClellan also joined the cheerleading team. Here, she said things “felt different,” and added that the educators were “invested” in her.

“It just changed the trajectory of my life,” she shared.

McClellan graduated from Grambling State University in 2015 with a history degree and then went on to earn a graduate degree in history from Mississippi State University.

With two degrees under her belt, McClellan was still undecided on what to do next, so she followed in the footsteps of her older sister, Jaila, who worked with Teach for America, which places graduates in underserved schools.

After joining the program, in 2020 McClellan found herself back in her hometown of Kansas City applying to work at the same middle school she’d been forced to leave years before.

She got the job at Lincoln while coaching volleyball and track. She explained that for her, going back to her old school was not about a second chance but instead about making sure her students felt seen and understood.

“Over time, you start to see the kind of person you’re talking to,” she says. “I’ll meet a kid, and I’ll be like, ‘Oh, you’re an athlete, you genuinely value sports,’ and so that’s how I kind of push you and move you.”

In 2023, she started working at Lincoln College Preparatory Academy High School, where she serves as athletic director.

McClellan’s inspirational redemption story proves that no matter how bleak your future may look, “It’s all about the small bounds forward.” 

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