08/14/2025
Donāt forget the kids who are doing the extra work.
The kids whose days donāt end with the final bell, the kids whose breaks donāt follow a school calendar.
The kids who spend their afternoons being shuttled to speech, or PT, or OT.
The kids whose schedules include services and therapies, on top of everything else.
The kids who need extra help and support.
The kids who are struggling to overcome barriersāwhether physical, mental, or emotional.
The kids who donāt follow the typical schedules, hit the expected milestones, take the traditional path.
The kids who might need different strategies and tools to help them learn.
These kids are working so hard, too.
Theyāre tired, too, even if their successes seem smaller or maybe even completely unnoticeable to most.
There likely arenāt any awards for them at the end of the year, or special recognition for how far theyāve come.
But take it from meāthey are working SO dang hard.
Donāt forget to acknowledge their efforts.
Because what might be a small hurdle on the track for most kids, could be a Herculean task for a kid who has to try 10 times harder just to make it to the starting line.
These kids might not excel in traditional ways, but thereās nothing unexceptional about them.
Because they work harder for every win, and they donāt take a single one for granted.