Many teachers use the summer as a time to learn new tools for the next school year. For one teacher in south Houston, that meant a new way of managing her classroom.
When Verlia Reed-Byrd first taught seventh grade English at Thomas Middle School in south Houston, she struggled so much that she considered quitting.
Then she got some new training to manage the class from TEACH, To Educate All Children, and also met a new student, Broderick Chatman.
Reed-Byrd is now a trainer with TEACH. Chatman is a senior at Texas Southern University, where he is studying business management.
They reflect on that change and what it meant for each of them.
(Above: Broderick Chatman and Verlia Reed-Byrd)