A Note from Ms. McCoy, Emily's Teacher

Emily is remarkable in the challenges she has overcome. She came to the door of my classroom as a feisty 7th grade student inquiring why some of her friends were in my class but she was still in a class for Language learners. I offered that it may be due to some additional support she needs in the other class- but that if she wanted to try mine she could. We agreed that she would put in any extra effort I asked of her and even if it became too hard she wouldn't give up. Emily never took short cuts- she worked hard and she increased her reading level 3 grades in 6 months. A remarkable accomplishment!

She also came in 2nd out of over 500 school participants in a speech contest. In her speech she wrote of the challenges of being raised by her sister and all of the struggles that they collectively faced and overcame. They grew up together and handled adversity I don't dare to imagine. She still attended school and completed her work. She built healthy relationships with peers and adults and she was finally ready to share her experiences with others. Her speech brought us to tears and for those who worked closely with her provided us an opportunity to know just how deep her courage ran.

She was above grade level when she left 7th grade. We remained close- and the following year I supported her second attempt at the speech contest. She won. Again, she bared her soul and put out for all to hear just how much work she did to be the person she was slowly becoming. Now in high school, I see her less often but we communicate by text and email to be sure grades, assignments and future goals stay on track.