del Lahlou’s father, Abderrahin Lahlou, gave his son a challenge. If he got perfect scores (600) on two of his four SOL tests, he would buy him something special.
Adel not only met his father’s challenge, but beat it by getting perfect scores on all four of his SOL tests. He received a 600 in his third-grade English, Math, History and Science SOL tests.
Deraine Simpson, the assistant principal at Mount Vernon Woods, was waiting to hear from Fairfax County to see if any other student has achieved perfect scores on all their SOL tests.
“I think it’s amazing what he’s done, and I want everyone to know about it,” Simpson said.
Abderrahin said that he worked with his son every night, adding on an hour to his regular homework time. They got information from the internet, books and teacher packets.
“I studied as hard as I could,” said Adel, who was most concerned about the Science test. He felt that there was more to memorize for that subject so his father requested test packets from previous year’s tests. Once they conquered that subject, they went onto math and history.
Reginald Romaine, principal at Mount Vernon Woods, said that they hold an SOL meeting at the beginning of the year for al the parents; it was through that meeting that Abderrahin learned that he could request previous year’s test packets. He also worked with his older son, Mohamed, a sixth-grader; he received a pass/proficient score.
Abderrahin acknowledges the efforts of the staff and administration at Mount Vernon Woods.
“Mr. Romaine — he’s everywhere. He makes sure that everything is running well. The teachers [including Adel’s third-grade teacher, Tynika Lytle] work as a team,” Abderrahin said.
Adel will transfer to Riverside Elementary School next year, where he will be in the new fourth grade class of the Gifted & Talented (GT) center. Lori Morton, principal at Riverside, said that she is excited to meet him.
Adel’s reward for his success? A motorized scooter. Planning ahead, he’s thinking he may want a laptop computer for his next challenge.