When I first met Kenny, he was a bright, enthusiastic second grader with a charming smile, quick wit, and artistic bent. Over the course of the next two years, however, nearly everything changed. Homework wasn't turned in. Grades declined. Kenny became argumentative with adults and isolated from classmates he once considered friends. Even his appearance changed, as he started wearing clothes that made him look older and meaner. The only area in which he showed improvement was in finding increasingly clever ways to get removed from class.