“My biological parents had bills to pay. They gave me up, knowing they may never see me again. I didn’t know what was happening. Soon, I was taken away. I was halfway across the world on a plane ride that changed my life forever. I was given a second chance at life.”

‘I was abandoned on a doorstep at 1 years old, burned. ‘Wen, we’d like to adopt you.’ I was given a second chance to live.’: Burn survivor adopted from foster care, ‘I’m so lucky to be alive!’

Teacher urges ability over test scores: ‘Dear Mom, today at school, I took a test. I do not know if I passed.’
“We give tests. I get it, I really do. They have their place. But when I look at Valeria’s drawing, I can’t stop thinking about how important it is to remember that our students are so much more than a numerical snapshot.”