Dearest Cassie, I am so proud of you! First and foremost, I am proud of you as a mom. Most moms decide to take the sidelines and complain about their system, their schools and blame society or anyone possible for their child’s shortcomings. You decided to take the other route. The hard route. You decide to take responsibility for your child’s actions and happiness and you decided to do something about it. You took the job of his advocate seriously and you are going to move mountains! I am also proud of you as an educator! We need more parent involvement and we need “nosy” parents that care about kid’s business, we need parents to partner with us and show us that our opinion matter, and above of all, we need to show these children that they can have a voice and that their feelings are valid, even when things seem hard and problems are arising. I am proud of you as a friend. You decided to stand up for your children, but for all children. Your passion is contagious and I hope that other people start seeing you as a role model and decide to stand up for what is right. You are going to connect the dots and eliminate barriers between school and home and even professionals. I know change can be scary; especially when we are navigating a whole new world, a world of the unknown… but know that the sky is the limit when you have passion in your heart. One of my favorite authors, Paulo Coelho, says:” Be Brave. Take Risks. Nothing can substitute experience”; Go, Cassie, be brave, conquer the world. Make our children happy! Much love and success,