THIS is No Child Left Behind

My first years in teaching, I found myself frustrated each year by not being able to reach every single one of my 32 students (sometimes there were more than 32 in my classroom). I spent so much time in my room trying to figure out how to make it possible so that no one fell in the cracks. Then one day, a veteran teacher listened to my heart ache and gave these words of "wisdom" to me (said with sarcasm): "Oh didn't you know? Someone's going to always fall through the cracks. You could never reach all of them." I was so hurt by this. The resolution in her voice, after years of working with kids. I remember thinking "How can I just be ok with a child being lost???" I have never ever wanted to be a principal or a school founder. My family and closest friends will tell you, my only ambition was to be a wife, mother and teacher. I love being with the kids personally...one to one...touching each other's hearts. That's where my passion has always been. When I was a principal or an administrator, I did not stay in my office. I was in the hallways, stopping by classes, even offering a theatre/music class to anyone who wanted to be a part. I just wanted to touch kids and not see anyone "fall through the cracks." The morning God spoke to me about starting a school, I fought him. I fought him for days. I kept hearing his voice. I kept telling him how hard and impossible it was and that I did not want to do it. Finally after days of this back and forth and a real pushing of the Spirit to do it. I simply said, "Yes. Lord I will do it. I don't know how. It is impossible. But if you are really saying to do this, then it must come from you." He did it. All glory and honor be to Him who can do exceedingly abundantly above all we can ask or think! Hallelujah! He has done it! Not me. Not my experience or education. God used this little girl who hated school, who could barely pass school herself, to start a school with no money JUST so that NO child whether they are brilliant, artsy, sports obsessed, comedian, shy, sweet, mean, different, typical, seemingly not so smart, organized, disorganized, Christian, struggling in their faith, not a Christian yet,  Not a Christian or going to be (we are a Christian school, but the students must choose for themselves...it is not forced), happy, sad, messy, clean, pretty to society, pretty in God's eyes, black, white, green, yellow, orange, in the box, outside of the box, half way in the box...every child can succeed and find the purpose God programmed into their DNA at conception. No child at the Living Water School will fall through the cracks. They may not finish in the typical way or at the regulated time of a traditional school, but they will get to wherever they need and want to go and we will help them. www.thelivingwaterschool.org.