New Orleans, La. -
Lakeisha Davis teaches science at Sarah T. Reed High School. She also gives lessons on dreams.
"Today is Wednesday. You know what that means?" she asked, holding a frog to dissect. "Scooter will be on TV!"
Scooter is Burnell Taylor, a 2012 graduate of Reed. He's now in the top 10 on "American Idol."
"Last year he went on "X Factor" and he didn't make it," said one of his former classmates.
Another girl remembered he went to the second round on Idol and didn't make it. This year he's in the finals.
Science teacher Lakeisha Davis was his favorite.
"He calls me all the time," she said. "When he comes to visit he will sit in my class all day. Scooter is a sweet child."
When Burnell started at the school as a freshman in 2009, teachers say he was quiet and didn't call attention to himself. But when students learned of his voice as a sophomore, he blossomed.
Burnell performed in the school's Beats and Lyrics program and sang the National Anthem at his senior ring ceremony.
"He came back to visit and was signing autographs," Davis said of her student's newfound fame.
One classmate told us Scooter has confidence, saying, "He's going to make it and if he doesn't he still won't give up."
Terri Peyton is dean of students. She told us, "I felt in my heart, once the public and the nation sees Scooter, they'd see what we feel. I was really in awe."
