By Chris Wilson

Seventh graders at Fort Clarke Middle School were rewarded for their hard work through the first nine weeks of school with a concert and motivational speech by Gainesville singer Trevis Prince.

(Photo: Trevis Prince performs for Fort Clarke seventh graders)

The program was part of the school’s “high performance series,” which rewards students who do well both academically and in terms of their behavior.

The slogan Fort Clarke teachers are using to promote better performance is “Get on the B.U.S. — Behave. Up the Grade. Succeed.”

The students must maintain at least a 2.0 grade point average for the nine-week period to participate in the high performance series. “If the kids have a Dean’s referral, they don’t get to attend the performance,” says seventh grade teacher Linda Williams.

Prince, a former substitute teacher at Fort Clarke, spoke to the students about self respect, hard work, focus and determination. He told personal anecdotes about how hard he practiced when he was on his high school basketball team, because he knew that he would be performing in front of people. He also performed R&B songs he had written specifically for the occasion.

"Trevis Prince provides a positive role model,” says Fort Clarke principal Donna Kidwell. “He is able to effectively blend an inspirational message of hard work and self-worth with contemporary music that adolescents find compelling.”

In addition to watching Prince performed, the seventh graders also watched the inspirational 1988 movie “Stand & Deliver,” which documents a class of struggling students, who overcome odds to become top math students.

For information about Trevis Prince, visit www.trevisprince.com.