Tami Hauck worried how her son was fitting in at school.

Barry Hausman III has Down syndrome and she knew that could make acquainting himself with classmates a challenge.Any fears Hauck had, however, flew out the window last year on a routine morning when she dropped him off at Northern Lehigh Middle School."I watched him get out of the car, and as he walked up to the school, all the kids were giving him high-fives," she described. "I just couldn't believe how much they have accepted him."It's not only classmates who took so quickly to Hausman, who is finishing his eighth-grade year.Middle school staff was as eager to help him learn as he was to succeed.In fact, the first time Catherine Farole, a learning support teacher, met Hausman and looked in his "adorable, blue eyes," she told Hauck her son was going to be something someday."He was just very polite and very eager to learn," Farole said. "I've had him as a math student the last two years and the amount he has been able to pick up is amazing."An honor roll student for the past two years, Hausman, who lists his favorite subjects as math, history and science, saw all his hard work come to fruition in 2014-15 as an eighth-grader.He received an educational achievement award for students with intellectual disabilities, the middle school President's Award for Educational Achievement, and was recently one of 34 students inducted into Northern Lehigh's National Junior Honor Society."All the achievements would not have been possible without this school district," Hauck said."You hear so many horror stories about parents of special needs children and what they go through trying to mainstream the kids. It's just nice to be able to send your son to a school and not have to worry about any of that."Hausman is more laid-back about his success, simply noting that he was "excited" for the accolades.The self-proclaimed "ladies man" would much rather talk about the middle school farewell dance, which will go down as his first date."I danced all night and had a lot of fun," he said. "My date's name was Donna."Another favorite topic is how, as a junior honor society member, he routinely visits Forgotten Felines and Fidos in Germansville."I love taking the kitties catnip and toys," he said proudly.He sits with different friends at lunch, almost daily, according to Farole. When students are working in groups during science or social studies class, he picks who he wants to work with and is readily welcomed by the students."I think the other students in his class have learned a lot from Barry," Farole said."They learn how to accept someone with Down syndrome and show kindness."At times, Hausman is hard to understand, which Hauck calls his one major setback.Those who know him best, she said, usually know what he's trying to say."If we don't, he is very good at putting his thoughts down on paper," she said.Getting Hausman to focus in class isn't too difficult, Farole said, especially not when the reward involves snakes."Eighth-grade social studies teacher Todd Herzog keeps a snake in his room and Barry gets to hold it and watch it eat," Farole said.Beyond the classroom, Hausman stays involved in extracurricular activities.He conducted a survey on students' favorite animals and penned an article on paraprofessional Judy DeBias for the school's newspaper, The Bulldog Bark.After school, he has stayed to help make pumpkin rolls as part of a junior honor society fundraiser.As an athlete, he competed in the 50-meter run, softball throw and long jump at a Special Olympics event in Whitehall in May.This summer, Hausman plans to camp with his family at Don Laine Campground, swim and take in a Lehigh Valley IronPigs game with Farole.Just how much is Hausman adored at the middle school?"His favorite meal is spaghetti," Farole said. "Last year, something in the kitchen happened and they couldn't serve spaghetti.Someone went over to the high school, made a spaghetti platter for him and brought it back. They knew it was his favorite."This fall, Hausman will leave the middle school behind and cross the street to attend Northern Lehigh High School.Farole, however, said he'll be welcomed back to visit anytime he wants."It brings tears to my eyes when I think about what this school has done for him," Hauck said."We have fought so hard and now we don't have to fight so hard because everything is coming together. This is what we wanted for him as far as a quality education."