The lengths that teachers go to in order to make sure that their students succeed are truly amazing! We can all remember one teacher from our childhood that took things above and beyond when it came to helping us when we needed it. For one teacher, however, that “extra step” would end up changing her life forever.
Paige Bramlett is a behavior interventionist teacher at a school in Franklin, Indiana.
As a behavior interventionist, Bramlett worked with kids who needed a little extra support. Most of the children she worked with had a rough time due to other circumstances. For Bramlett, that was exactly what she was hoping to help with.
“My goal as a behavior interventionist was to focus on the emotional and social regulation, and we really focused a lot on the zones like red meaning angry, green meaning you’re good,” said Bramlett. “Really focusing on the children who needed that extra support in school.” – WTHR
One day, Bramlett was asked to help with William, a kid who had come out of the foster care system.
As many can attest, foster care isn’t easy for anyone. William had come away with PTSD and severe trauma from his previous experiences. As per her job, Bramlett began working with him in order to help him succeed.
After the first session, however, it was clear that there was something different about William.
“I had this tunnel vision,” said Bramlett. “It was my goal to keep this child safe. And if that meant that it was adoption, then that’s what that meant.”
Soon, the two spent most of the day together. Whether it was at recess or lunch, they were working on social and emotional behaviors to improve William’s quality of life around others. It was then that she knew what needed to happen.
It didn’t take long for “Miss Paige” to realize she was going to help bring stability to William’s life.
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Soon after meeting him, Bramlett began the process of becoming Williams’ foster mom. Then, after a long, arduous screening process, she finally was able to adopt the 7-year-old boy.
“I knew that this child needed a forever home, and I didn’t want him to continue to bounce back and forth, in and out of foster homes,” Bramlett told WTHR.
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Soon, “Miss Paige” turned into mom.
“I never asked or pushed to be called ‘Mom,’” Bramlett said. “I was his teacher, Miss Paige, so it was a little bit of a difficult transition to call me ‘Mom.’ So we were on a family vacation, and after that trip was when the whole ‘Miss Paige’ name shifted, and she graduated to ‘Mom.’”
The moment was incredibly sweet and thousands of people around the world got to celebrate with them. Bramlett had been documenting part of the process online and had garnered a large following of people looking to support them.
They even adopted a puppy to help round out the family!
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Little Banks was added to the family, much to the excitement of the now-millions of online followers. Even celebrities began reaching out to congratulate the duo on their little family!
“Jamie Lee Curtis!” said Bramlett. “She has reached out twice, wanting to send books to William, which is really cool.”
It’s amazing how much of a difference you can make when you open your heart!
Make sure you check out the video below!
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