Superintendent's Report

We can all learn from a story about perseverance.

My brother lived in Cleveland, Ohio for a number of years and would play pick-up basketball at the local gym. A kid who was five feet five inches tall who looked to be about a freshman in high school showed up one day, but it didn’t take long before they realized he was a pretty good player. Earl Boykins was playing basketball at Eastern Michigan after a college recruiter who initially mistakenly thought he was the ball boy offered him a scholarship.

After graduating college, Boykins worked at the local YMCA in Cleveland. The Cleveland Cavaliers were performing poorly and, in an effort to promote attendance the Cavaliers signed the local kid to a 10-day contract. They promoted him and his small 5’5” stature by providing life- size cardboard cut outs of him at the games. After the 10-day contract expired the Cavaliers attempted to resign him, but Mr. Boykins declined the contract and went back to work at the YMCA. He then signed short term contracts with four other teams before securing a 13-million-dollar contract with the Denver Nuggets.

Boykins is the shortest player in NBA history to score over 30 points and ended his professional career in 2012. Currently he is the assistant coach at the University of Texas El Paso. He is certainly providing his players a great example of how to overcome obstacles and persevere.