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This story is about A. A began coming to the LSEM Resource Room at the beginning of her 3rd grade year. Her teacher referred her for services because beginning of the year state testing for 3 graders indicated that A was reading at kindergarten level. She was a lovely little girl with a positive attitude, a kind spirit towards all, and a sincere love for Jesus. She had a smile that brought joy to my day, and she always made me feel special when I observed her excitement to see me as I arrived at her room to bring her back to the resource room.
As I worked with A, I discovered she was a very bright child who could articulate masterfully and loved sharing information. When she worked in a small group setting with me, her group lovingly called her ‘A, the Trivia Princess’. Every subject we encountered working on reading skills provided an opportunity for our Princess A to share some very interesting facts with us. We all learned many new amazing and fascinating facts. We all expressed belief in A by sharing that she would be the perfect Jeopardy contestant for a children’s Jeopardy episode.
As I explored the reasons for A’s underachievement in reading, I did some reading assessments with her which exposed the various reading skills that A was struggling with. In addition, it was quite obvious to me that A’s biggest challenge was being able to focus on the instruction being presented and keeping focused on her work long enough to complete it.
I partnered with A’s classroom teacher, and we contacted her parents to discuss the focus/attention issues that were negatively impacting A’s learning. They in turn sought the advice of A’s pediatrician and A was diagnosed with ADHD. A began treatment and we witnessed immediate improvement. A was able to concentrate in the classroom, and she was able to diligently work on the reading skills that she was deficient in when she worked with me in the Resource Room. She was excited as her reading skills grew and we took the time to celebrate her awesome accomplishments! Since she could concentrate for a longer time, she was able to spend extra time with me during the day which provided her with additional benefit.
At the end of the school year, when A completed the final state 3rd-grade assessment, she PASSED the test! We were all so excited for our Princess A and are very proud of her. Her Resource Room small group held a celebration for her and we asked her to share 10 trivia facts with us; she smiled from ear to ear!
That is not the end of A’s story for me as Her Kind Heart is what has personally touched me forever. At the end of the year, she organized all the 3rd-grade girl students that I work with to chip in and buy me a special gift. They also made a card and wrote special messages to me. Needless to say, they made me cry Tears of Blessings. When I started school this year, A was one of the first students that I encountered in the hallway. She came up and gave me a big hug and exclaimed: “Mrs. G I am so happy you are back! I would not want to be here without you. You helped me learn to read.”
It is moments like these that make me Praise God for giving me the mission of serving His Children. It has been an awesome Journey and Blessing! A special Thank You Jesus for Your Child A!
~written by Vendetta Gutshall, LSEM Teacher at Central Lutheran School in New Have, IN
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