Thanks To A Special School

 

Grace strides across the gymnasium floor to receive her certificate of 8th grade graduation.

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The mixture of emotions inside of me contains a pinch of wistfulness, a small douse of sadness and a huge heaping of gratitude. I am grateful for the many special people at HG Hill Middle School who formed the Village that nurtured my special daughter through her four years there. They coaxed her on to class as she typically poked and dawdled. They shared in her contagious joy, also typical of Grace.  They took the extra time to establish eye contact with her and patiently summoned her reluctant words.

This is a special school. I knew it was coming in and I leave with fondness as Grace departs for high school, having experienced in real time that special students are welcomed here. By the open attitude and encouragement, teachers and staff led the way and modeled for Grace’s typically developing peers acceptance, tolerance and responsibility to the differently abled. And, too, we were blessed by the acceptance and embrace of her school peers.