Rachel Burgett

Words cannot express what Mrs. Burgett has done not only for our son, but for us as a family as well. Our son was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder at the end of Kindergarten. Upon starting 1st grade, our son stated he had felt like a “misfit” because he was “the boy who couldn’t focus”. He said that he watched all of his classmates achieve great colors, but even though he worked so hard, he could never get any color better than what was expected of him. He disliked school. He was frustrated. We were frustrated. Then began the plan implemented by his first grade teacher, Mrs. Burgett. She observed him, gave us recommendations, voiced her concerns, and ALWAYS remained positive. She knew he had greatness in him! She gave us hope when we thought all was lost! She encouraged us, motivated us & helped us be apart of his growth! She communicated with us, even if it was a simple late night text with positive words the first time she has a chance to sit down for the night, after taking care of her own little ones. The work she put in our child to help him grow & succeed, is a feat nobody can imagine unless you have a child with a special need. She gave him individualized attention, put him into special groups, had unlimited amount of patience & consistently gave positive reinforcements. If our son forgot to raise his hand, instead of having him move his color clip down as a punishment, she instead would just allow another student who raised their hand to move their clip up. I will never forget the day our son came home from school screaming in excitement that he had moved his clip up to the highest color. He said, “Mom! I worked so hard for this! I just know I could do it!” Mrs. Burgett later sent me a text that he had achieved this all on his own & how proud she was of him! He is confident, growing, & now LOVES school...all because of her! He is sad as we are nearing the end of the school year. He said, “Mom, what am I going to do without Mrs. Burgett? She is like my mom when you aren’t there at school!” I wondered too. What would we do without her? She has given our family so much hope & joy & a teacher like her should not go unnoticed! Thank you, Mrs. Burgett, for helping our son with a special need to grow, succeed, & gain confidence! Our family could not have accomplished so many great things this year without you!!

Mason Smith