AdoptED Blog

This year was exciting for AdoptED. I felt that I had one year completed under my belt and was ready to make even deeper connections with students. Although our time in the classroom was cut short, I was still able to do just that. One student that really stands out was a senior at Arlington Heights High School in Fort Worth. It was a full day of classes  between two teachers who were true advocates for their students. After my first 3 presentations, it was time for a lunch break and I was asked to  stay for chicken pot pie prepared by the nutrition class, no worries it was edible.

One of my favorite memories from this school year occurred at the end of a very long day. A student was sitting off to the side alone, so I went to speak with her once I had an open opportunity. As it turned out, it was her first day at this new school, so she was rightfully anxious. She told me she is a Gladney Baby and mentioned she has an open adoption with her birth grandmother. Other students heard her and started asking her questions and I watched this frightened young girl raise her shoulders up and lift her head.

I am a hugger. I love hugs and this year I somehow got to hug a lot of students who seemed to really need it. I hugged one student who shared her story of meeting her birth father in between the fall and spring semester presentations because she felt ready after my recommendation of seeking counseling prior in order to prepare for reunification. I also hugged a student who had a friend that placed her daughter for adoption and when the presentation was over said she was thankful we were there to share facts so that her friend felt accepted. She shared her friend was proud of her decision but that not a lot of their classmates understood it. My most memorable hug came when a young girl who approached me in tears and asked if her Grandma could adopt her because she didn’t want her biological Mom to come back and she  needed a legal guardian to put down on her FAFSA for college.

It was in between 5th and 6th period after lunch as I began preparing the classroom for my AdoptED presentation. As I was passing out the colorful branded pens that we would later use for our assignment and chatting with incoming students, I noticed a young man walk into the classroom with his headphones on, look at my PowerPoint slide on the projector and walk out. I wondered what was going through his mind. He seemed upset. Did he forget his homework in his locker? Was he annoyed to have a guest speaker? Maybe he had an argument with his girlfriend at lunch? Or maybe he had a negative experience with adoption. I wasn’t sure but I was prepared to be mindful. Often in the classroom we don’t know what a student is going through that day or back at home. Just shy of the tardy bell, I saw the student return and slump down in his chair at the back sitting alone.

“It changed my life.” These are words a student muttered to me after an AdoptED presentation.