It was a rough start to the school year but just when I was hoarse from leaving messages to the Principal demanding that Kajal be moved into a new class her teacher convinced me to give her another chance.

She reached out to me, chased me down. She expressed her concern for Kajal's welfare, how truly touched she was by Kajal's story and history and she stressed how much she wanted to help Kajal continue her miraculous growth. She told me 'her' side and she apologized profusely for the 'ruler' incident. She explained that she was taking on a character in a book she'd just read to the class, pretending to be a bit scary but didn't realize the impact it would have on Kajal.

The teacher did admit there were some out of control children in the class that she has to raise her voice to, quite often.. to get their attention and we both realized that Kajal was taking on that negativity. We made an agreement to work together, daily if necessary to help Kajal in whatever ways we need to, to help her flourish.

She even came up with the idea of a small notebook that she and Kajal would write notes to one another at the end of each day, the teacher expressing how well Kajal did that day and Kajal would have a place to express her experience in the classroom that day. Since then Kajal has had nothing but positive feedback about her experiences in school, every day.

I was ready to jump and scream and fight for Kajal but I also needed to step back and give the teacher a chance to tell me 'her side' and for both of us to find a way to work together, in partnership to help Kajal succeed.

It's working, Kajal is loving school... yea!