Mikealla Record gives up her lunch period everyday to spend time in Ardyth Fritts' Intensive Life Skills class at Frontier Middle School. Mikealla, 13, is a Cadet, a student who volunteers to work with Fritts' students on a daily basis.

"We walk the kids, we feed them lunch, we play with them on the swings," Mikealla said. "They're just like normal people."

"They all have cool personalities," Mikealla added. "Like Kori, she's very funny."

Intensive Life Skills classes are therapeutic based, Fritts said. ILS students are considered medically fragile, so much of their class time is spent working on physical therapy and adjusting the kids to social settings.

"Academics is really not that important right now," Fritts said. "It's really their quality of life."

Cadets take Fritts' students for walks around the school and outside, and spend time with the students in the classroom. Some Cadets help with parts of a student's physical therapy, like massaging a student's back while she's stretching.

"They really are one-on-one with the kids," Fritts said.

To be a Cadet, students sign a contract with Fritts outlining what her expectations are for their behavior and how they'll help in her classroom. Students also must test proficient or above on the PAWS, and agree to maintain their grades.

"These kids are role models for my students," Fritts said.

Fritts said her students become motivated to work harder in her classroom, and that they become more vocal. One of her teacher's assistants, Jill Kraft, said it's neat to see how excited the students are when Cadets come to visit.

"You see their faces light up when they come in," Kraft said. "It's just neat to see them interact with one another. Sometimes you wonder about kids around that age, how they can be cruel with their words."

And the Cadets also go through changes as they work with Fritts' students.

"They're very prideful," said sixth grade teacher Jessica Mays. "Just seeing that sense of pride, it's nice to see. They're very conscientious now of their grades and keeping everything handed in."

Fritts also noticed how students gain confidence in themselves as they take on responsibilities in her classroom.

"They're really proud about it," she said. "I really think it's their program more than mine. I'm just excited kids want to be involved."

Reach education reporter Jasa Santos at (307) 266-0593 or at Jasa.Santos@trib.com.