I had heard stories last year from Beau's para Ms. Erin about a teacher that Beau saw everyday in the hall and had made a connection with. I didn't remember her name or what grade she taught however I knew they had formed a connection. About 2 weeks ago Beau and I were walking into Wal-Mart when a woman yelled "Hi Beau" and walked over to us. He lit up and said "hi, hi, hi" and smiled so big. These occurrences aren't rare in our world. If you ever take Beau anywhere expect that someone will come up and say, "Hi Beau", "How are you Beau", etc. We rarely know who these people are. I'm fairly certain he should run for mayor or maybe even president - he does love kissing babies! I asked this woman if she knew Beau from school and she said yes. She said that her name was Ms. Foss, a 3rd grade teacher at his school. She explained to me that she and Beau had formed a friendship last year in the hall when he would pass her classroom. From what I understand, and from Beau's reaction to her, their bond only increased as the year went on. My prayer was that the school had noticed this and that Beau would end up in her classroom.
When I checked in today at the school I was delighted to see that Beau was assigned to be in Ms. Foss' 3rd grade classroom. When I spotted the principal I asked her about how it all came about. I wasn't sure if they had purposefully introduced him to her in preparation for 3rd grade or if it was just random that it happened. She told me that it was completely random that he took a liking to Ms. Foss. He had to pass her classroom during the day and she was always so kind to him and they made a connection. It was obvious to Ms. Estep what needed to happen. It was also important to Ms. Foss as she made a request as well that Beau be in her classroom.
Ms. Estep and I continued our conversation about Beau's new special education teacher. She told us her name is Katie and that she really thinks Beau will respond well to her. Katie will be calling us to set up a transition meeting along with Beau's former teacher to make the changeover as smooth as possible. I felt really good about her background and look forward to meeting her in the weeks ahead.
I thought the conversation with the principal was coming to an end when Ms. Estep shared one more story with me. I should've known I wasn't going to make it out of that school without crying (joyful tears) - it seems to happen quite often when I meet with staff.
Ms. Estep had received a call from a parent this summer making a request. I don't know the parents name nor do I know the name of their child. This parent called and said they wanted to request that their child be in a particular classroom. The principal explained that they can't choose which teacher their child gets, however that wasn't what the parent was requesting. This parent called to specifically request that their child be put in the same 3rd grade classroom as Beau Weichers was assigned to (whoever the teacher may be).
Cue the tears - for both me and the principal.
As you can guess the principal did the right thing and an exception was made and this child was assigned to the same classroom as Beau.
Here's what that moment felt like to me. It felt like my child had an impact. Maybe they have been in the same class before and they wanted to continue being a buddy for Beau. Maybe the child hasn't had a class with Beau and their parent felt it was an opportunity for their child to be around someone different and it would provide a life lesson for them. No matter what the reason, kudos to that parent that picked up the phone and asked to make it happen. Kudos to the school for making it happen. Kudos to Ms. Estep for sharing the story with me.
I never imagined Beau would get so lucky in where he went to elementary school. I never imagined he would still be with his para (5 years strong). I never imagined he would have a best buddy in his bus driver. I never imagined he would have such amazing school nursing staff. I never imagined he would have such a great special education teacher and such inclusive minded, amazing regular classroom teachers. From the school secretary who helps out with Beau so Ms. Erin can eat her lunch, to the lunch lady that always gave Beau extra ranch dressing, to the janitor that makes a point to say hello to Beau, to the principal, nurses, teachers, paras, bus drivers, etc.; you name it, Hansen has the magic combination.
I praise the school for knowing what was best for Beau and making those decisions when I didn't even realize it was going on. They want what we want; what is best for Beau. I just can't give enough praise to Hansen Elementary and the staff and students. It takes a village to raise a special child and I'm so glad they are a part of our village.
And to the anonymous parent that made the request for your child to be in Beau Weichers classroom - thank you. I don't know if you'll ever know how much that means. And I promise you, your child will learn things from Beau that books and teachers can't teach them. Thank you for doing your part to raise a compassionate and understanding human being.
