Boys shave heads for ill student

At least 11 boys at Lizzie Nell Cundiff McClure Elementary School in McKinney had their heads shaved over the past few weeks for the sake of a kindergarten student who lost his hair due to chemotherapy.

Tyler, whose parents asked that his last name be withheld, was diagnosed with cancer late last year and, after several chemotherapy treatments, lost his hair.

Alex Kao, Tyler's neighbor and fellow student at McClure Elementary, thought his friend might be embarrassed or even made fun of at school for having no hair.

"I thought about shaving my head for a long time, and then decided to ask my dad if it would be okay," Alex said. His dad, Leon Kao, not only approved, but agreed that they would shave each other's heads.

After Alex came to school and told why he shaved his head, other boys at the school decided they would do the same. Tyler is only a kindergarten student, but most of the boys who had their heads shaved are in the fifth grade, with several in lower grades, also.

Some of the boys shaved their heads just once and their hair is beginning to grow out again, but is still very short. All of the boys, except one, said their heads were shaved by a parent. One student said got his head shaved at a barber shop.

Tyler is still very ill and only feels like coming to school once in a while. When he does show up, he draws the attention and comfort of all of the students, teachers and staff members at the school.

Several students commented on why they decided to have their heads shaved.

Jacob Kankel said, "I shaved my head because Tyler would come to school and might have been the only one with no hair, so I shaved my head because I didn't want him to be embarrassed. If I had cancer like Tyler, I wouldn't be able to make a choice."

Ian Cano said he shaved his head because, "I wanted him to feel normal, and for support."

Jill Leuke, McClure Elementary counselor, said the school is involved in the Rachel's Challenge program, a quickly growing movement that promotes kindness and compassion among students.

"It is also about starting a chain reaction of kindness and encouraging others to do the same," Leuke said.

Rachel's Challenge is named after Rachel Scott, the first victim of the Columbine shootings, who had written inspirational journals promoting kindness and compassion in schools and businesses.

McClure Elementary student Hunter Chae realized shaving his head was a way to both honor Rachel and show kindness to his fellow student.

"The reason I shaved my head was because if I had cancer, I would have no choice," Chae said. "When I saw people were shaving their heads, it felt right in my heart to keep the chain reaction going."

Alex Medina, Jaden Carpenter and Devon Lopez all said they shaved their heads so Tyler wasn't the only one at school with no hair.

"There are two reasons why I shaved my head," Andrew Willoughby said. "One: I didn't want to let kids with cancer to be left out of a group, ignored or even made fun of, so I shaved my head to show that whatever changes outside doesn't change the inside."

"Two: I needed a haircut, anyway."

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