Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Isaiah Drone. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Isaiah, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you share a customer success story with us?

I would gladly recommend the 100 & Beyond Program to any parent. Thank you, Mr. Drone for allowing GOD to use you to be another support system for my son and other young men in Dallas, Texas.

Mrs. Mapplelean Calico

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

In 2014, Isaiah Drone III decided to volunteer with different school-based and religious-based organizations weekly, where he taught leadership and civic engagement. The students were eager to learn from him and spread the information they learned to family and friends. Isaiah has personally mentored and trained hundreds of males and females, and they have gone off to become great citizens instilled with integrity and moral courage. “My team and I pride ourselves on serving our community, school culture, and supporting school leaders with the utmost integrity.” 100 & Beyond School Program provides students with positive experiences that will influence courage, kindness, selflessness, love, sacrifice, wisdom, happiness, and determination. Remembering these experiences will help to remind these adolescents that they have the potential to be good.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Our research team has studied adolescent development for the last 10 years. We have utilized Positive Youth Development (PYD) strategies to dynamically co-create character and identity with male adolescents through motivation, self-regulation, and measurable performance outcomes when socioeconomically disadvantaged students successfully complete the 100 & Beyond School Program. PYD has its origins in the field of prevention, evolving from a single-problem prevention context, such as reducing substance abuse or juvenile delinquency, to an expansive resiliency-focused strategy promoting positive asset building.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

“Isaiah was a very sickly child growing up, and he was constantly in the hospital for asthma and allergies, but he somehow grew out of those illnesses. He has always been a brilliant and talented child for as long I can remember. Even as a child, teachers requested that he enroll in gifted and talented classes. In 1985, I was admitted to the hospital to have surgery. This was the first of two major surgeries at St. Vincent Hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas. The doctors recommended that I have a double surgery for a hysterectomy and an intestinal bowel deduction. On the account that they discovered a tumor around that area from my X-ray results. I was hospitalized for about a week, and both Isaiah and his sister were there the entire time.” “During that time, my son entered a statewide artist competition for Best Optimist Prime drawing and he won first place. I was so proud of him. The Television broadcast station also mailed him a toy Transformer. I remember him being so excited.
Isaiah had to take responsibility at nine years old to care for me during my recovery. Because all of my sisters were living in other States, they could provide little help for me. “I remember this child would wake up early every morning so he could prepare; his mother’s breakfast and bring it to me in the bed. Little Isaiah also brought me my bathwater, soap, and a towel with a washbowl to bathe myself every morning. He also made me a glass of ice water every morning before he went to school and brought all of my juices and cough drops too. I mean, he made sure I had those things I needed by my bedside before he went to school every day for about six weeks.”
“I was able to teach Isaiah how to cook all sorts of food because he would learn everything so quickly, even how to cook cakes. The funny part is he likes to eat the cake mix while he’s baking. He would always be licking that cake mix bowl.”
“I even taught him how to shop for clothes and groceries, most Saturday mornings. We would catch the city bus headed to downtown Little Rock, Arkansas, and shop all day. I would buy apples, oranges, pears, peaches, etc., and he would sell them to his friends; he was a little businessman back then. He would also make deals with the salespeople at Sears on toys and games, and the boy would talk them into a discount if I would buy the toys. Isaiah is a very giving and loyal person; he likes to make others very happy. Usually, when people are around him, they are delighted because he always finds a way of keeping them laughing.”

Contact Info:

• Website: https://100andbeyondschoolprogram.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/isaiah.drone.7
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/isaiah-drone-iii-a-b-d-educational-reformer-56659417
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPKVgwkwZOZZ_uM_aN874tg/featured
• Other: https://impactofeducationalleadershiptalkshow.quora.com/ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/impact-of-educational-leadership-podcast/id1541975897 https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-impact-of-educational-lead-84668554/ https://open.spotify.com/show/224yIePe1ysduunDIdyDVK https://www.audible.com/pd/Podcast/B08JJPFPVB

Image Credits
Pictures credited by Isaiah Drone III