If You Are Katelyn Jackson
Teachers and students support each other
on their journey to accomplishment
Barbara Page, ESD 113 Regional Teacher of the Year
Aberdeen School District | Aberdeen High School
I
f you are Katelyn Jackson, some of this may
matter to you. Or it may make no difference
at all. But, knowing you, it will.
If you are Katelyn Jackson, and you’re reading
this, your high school years may have seemed
horrid and at times downright worthless. Your
parents struggled to make the right decisions
and chose drugs instead of taking care of you.
Thank God for your grandparents. If you are
Katelyn, you weren’t very optimistic about your
future. You didn’t even think that you were
going to graduate let alone go to college. But
you know all of this, right?
But did you know I never stopped believing in
you or the others?
I will never forget the day we were
brainstorming ideas for your college essay. You
were sitting in the auditorium—third row from
the bottom, middle seat, feet up in front of you.
In true Katelyn form, you were throwing a fit
about your essay. You shouted, “Mrs. Page, I
don’t have anything to write about.”
And when I told you, “Sure you do, talk about
your struggles with your mom’s drug addiction
and how you’re working to mend your
relationship with her,” I never expected to hear
what you would say next. What parent chooses
drugs again and tells their child to forget they
ever had a mother, that they don’t exist and to
never think about them.
I know you felt
bad for making
me cry. It wasn’t
your fault. I just
couldn’t believe
your mother made
that choice.
like you wanted it to be.
That essay sure
went through a
lot of drafts and
in the end it was
PERFECT—just
I cried a lot that year reading all of our AVID
(Advancement Via Individual Determination)
essays.
If you are Katelyn Jackson, you may be curious
to know that you weren’t alone. Others in our
AVID family had similar struggles.
You might me interested in hearing that
Jessica’s mom said those very same words to
her about a month ago. She texted me that just
before she drove her car into a tree driving 60
MPH. She’s OK now, but she had to drop out
of college and give up her dreams of a career in
medicine.
Remember when you wrote me how our AVID
family clashed and argued, but in the end we all
still have love for each other? I know you and
Jessica clashed at times, but she needs our love
and support more than ever.
Teacher of the Year biographies: bit.ly/2015ToY
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