I'm stunned that I was nominated as a Care (Celebrate Achievement Reward Excellence) Award recipient for Davis School District. Once a year, in all of the district, 10 awards are given. All employees (cooks, aides, janitors, secretaries, teachers, administration...) are eligible. It gives me such great pleasure because it means more than "You are a good teacher."
Someone asked, "Why do you think you were given this award?" I thought of the Prophet Joseph, son of Isaac and Rebecca, grandson of Abraham and Sarah. Joseph was loved by his parents, so his jealous brothers sold him. He rose to be top slave, overseer of all his owner's land, when he had the bad experience of meeting Potifer's wicked wife. Thrown in jail, he soon rose to be the King's right had man and was put in a poition to save his family. Of course, my story is much less dramatic yet...
all my life, I have watched God change my plans, and then shower down blessings in abundance. I was in graduate school at the University of Utah when Rachelle and Chris's parents were killed; we had a 3 month old baby girl (Melanie) yet Ken and I were asked to raise two sweet grieving children. It was just 6 months (January 1976) before I graduated, but I dropped out, became a full time mother and gave up the dreams I had since I was child of becoming a psychologist. Becoming an instant mother was difficult for me. I felt really bored and tired of the same rotation of cleaning and cooking and changing diapers, even though I really loved playing with my children and watching them grow. My hobby was writing and I started submitting some of my work to large publishing houses. Like Joseph of the Coat of Many Color fame, God prospered me and miraculously, within a few years (1982) I was able to get payed for my hobby. I was publishing with Putnam Publishing, one of the best and biggest publishing houses in the world, Deseret Book, Deseret News and the Church.
Life continued to get better and better, then Ken was diagnosed with terminal cancer at age 49. After he died, I needed insurance and a monthly check, neither of which writing provided for me. I turned to teaching Special Education, an endorsement I felt prompted to get (just in case something happened to Ken), but never thought I would use. In December 2004 God sent me to a high poverty area in one of the most difficult schools in the district: Wasatch Elementary in Clearfield. Within 4 years, God once again prospered me. I made many close friends and was given the Hall of Fame award for Wasatch Elementary and The Special Education Teacher of the Year Award for Davis School District in 2008.
All that I had built at Wasatch came to a quick stop two years ago (2011), the day I found out my new adopted baby grandson was blind. I immediately knew I had to work closer to home so I could use the hours I was spending on commuting to help my sweet Kody. I applied at Taylor in Centerville the same day I got the bad news about Kody and was offered the special education job during the interview two days later. Within a short time, our family's fasting and prayers were answered and a miracle happened: Kody was not totally blind, as the MRI witnessed. Although his sight is very limited, he can see. Even the Primary Children's Hospital Doctor called it a miracle. I have loved working at Taylor and once again God prospered me with many friends, but I was still stunned when it was announced at the end of March (2013), I had won the CARE Award.
I feel like all of my colleagues deserve these awards as much as I do. They are amazing and they work as hard or harder and are as dedicated as I am. The only answer I have is this is one way God chooses to bless me.
Jill's video shown at the CARE Award ceremony
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| Jill teaching Wilson Reading at Taylor Elementary, March 2013 |
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