TOP OF THE CLASS
Miss Haley Adopts Her ‘Problem’ Student
There are two types of students in school: the ones who try to make their teachers’ lives easier and the ones who aim to send their math teacher into early retirement. In her first year of teaching, fourth-grade teacher Chelsea Haley met her biggest problem student, Jerome Robinson, and she nearly quit. But instead, she adopted him and his little brother. “At certain points, his behavior got so bad, I thought, ‘I can’t do this anymore. I can’t be a teacher,’” Haley recalls. However, she refused to call it quits. Haley eventually gained Jerome’s trust and the two formed a close bond. Jerome had a hard time at home, living with his 1-year-old brother, Jace, and their birth mother. The family struggled with poverty and the loss of loved ones, including Jerome’s father and little sister. Even after Jerome moved on to fifth grade, other teachers sent him to Haley’s classroom because she was the only teacher he listened to.
In October 2015, shortly after entering her third year of teaching, Haley dreamed God told her she needed to become Jerome’s mother. Haley laughed and thought the idea was ridiculous. But the next day, while Jerome sat at her desk taking a test, he looked up and asked Haley if he could live with her. Later, Haley went to dinner with Jerome and his family. When she told them she would be returning to her home in Georgia after the school year finished, Jerome’s mother said, “You can go back, but I want you to take Jerome and Jace with you.” Though Haley was only 24 at the time, she filed papers to take permanent custody of the boys in December 2015. She also pulled money out of her retirement account to make a down payment on a house in Georgia. Two years later, the family is thriving. Jerome hasn’t gotten into any trouble at his middle school, and he made the honor roll in eighth grade. “I always knew I wanted to be a mom, and I wouldn’t trade this for anything,” Haley says. Now that’s a teacher who deserves a gold star!
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