A reticent student finds his rhythm at Community School: Kaed Ruby thrives in project-based learning

In the past few weeks before graduation most high school seniors look for any excuse to avoid going to class. Kaed Ruby looks forward to going to The Community School each day: He’s got a class to lead.

Ruby, a senior, facilitates a class on Dungeons and Dragons as part of his senior year curriculum. The school uses a project-based learning style in which students are given projects that incorporate multiple subjects. Over the course of their high school experience, students are strongly encouraged to think outside the box and find creative solutions to issues in the community.

“Once I got in here, I started to learn a lot more, to challenge new ideas and topics,” Ruby said. He initially came to TCS to get out of the traditional school system; now, after four years of project-based learning, Ruby is an active member of his school’s community.

“Being Kaed’s adviser for all four years, it’s been really amazing to see him develop,” said David Egly, a teacher at TCS. “Now that he’s a senior in high school, he’s just so much more confident and able to communicate more directly, able to collaborate with other students on other projects.”

Ruby is no stranger to overcoming challenges: At the beginning of his senior year, he was diagnosed with cancer. Two weeks after his diagnosis, doctors removed two golf-ball-size tumors from his brain. Since then, Ruby has regularly been getting MRIs to monitor any growths on his spine or nerves.

Despite major health setbacks, Ruby hasn’t lost his determination.

“I’ve realized that you can do whatever you want, as long as you’re passionate about it and willing to work for it,” he said.

“I really do admire his perseverance. I really admire his ability to make it look so easy to overcome such difficult challenges. It’s an inspiration to me that he can roll with it and not let anything get in his way,” Egly said.

Ruby is a dedicated member of the TCS Drummers, a West African drum group taught by Egly.

“Drumming has provided him that platform I think to be a leader in a way that might not have come up for him in different academic arenas,” Egly said.

The TCS Drummers practice three to five times per week, and perform on holidays such as Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Earth Day. Ruby began drumming in middle school and has been part of the group throughout high school. When he first joined, Egly said, Ruby was hesitant to take on a leadership role. Now he often leads the group, playing the dunun, which often has the most difficult rhythm patterns.

From leading classes to helping other students learn to play African drums, Ruby has come a long way from the quiet ninth-grader he was four years ago.

“He’s just really confident in his learning, and in himself and who he is,” said his mother, April Ruby. “He’s not worried about what other people think. He’s just grown into who he’s supposed to be.”