Editor:
I am a single mom of a 14 year old daughter, and we have lived in Aldergrove for over five years now.
Just over three years ago I had to transfer my daughter halfway through the year to Betty Gilbert school. She did not make this transition easy, but from day one the school worked with her and me to try and help to get her settled.
During the past four years, the staff at Betty Gilbert have gone above and beyond in their scope of pro-active support. They have gone the extra mile in their support for my daughter.
They never gave up on her; they said many times that they would not let her slip through the cracks.
My daughter was diagnosed with ADHD in grade 3, that has sometimes been a big challenge for the teachers, assistants and school counsellors, not to mention the principal, but again, they never gave up on her.
I truly believe the staff at Betty Gilbert were like a family to both me and my daughter. They have upwards of 300 kids at the school, and if my daughter was not at school by 9 a.m., my phone would be ringing by 9:01, wondering where my daughter was, this is just another example of the extra mile. This type of communication has been ongoing since she moved to the school.
Last Christmas was a tough one, we had just lost my dad, and were struggling finacially, just before school was wrapping up for the holidays. Mr. Everson, principal, knocked on my door after my daughter had left for school. He brought me gifts and enough food to have a nice Christmas dinner. I just cried; it felt so wonderful to know that the staff at Betty Gilbert wanted us to have a special holiday.
Last year my daughter starting hanging around with some girls that were somewhat troubled and just after spring break they talked my daughter into skipping out of class and introducing her to pot. I found out from one of her other friends, I confronted her and then the next day I took her to school and asked to speak with Mr. Everson and explained the situation to him and of course he had to suspend her for five school days. I explained that I was not able to be at home with her so they made arrangements to give her an in-school suspenson. The Langley school district also makes kids take a three-day course before they can return to class but as her parent I was responsible for getting her there in Langley in the morning, then picking her up. This was almost impossible for me, as I could not get off work at those times, so again the staff stood up to the plate and drove her to the class and then picked her up at the end of the day.
I could go on and on but I think I have probably said more than enough. I truly belived that without all the support from the staff at Betty Gilbert I may have lost my daughter to drugs or worse.
It just seems that a thanks is just not enough. My daughter goes into high school in September and I can only hope that I find a few teachers that are like the ones we just left.
A grateful mother, Aldergrove
