Reflections of a Proud Grandpa

As I reflect on my visit to Springer on “Be Our Guest Day” last Tuesday, the one word that keeps coming back is gratitude. First of all, I am so proud of my granddaughter, who has been through more in her eight short years than most of us will experience in a lifetime. In spite of this, she is having the time of her life in school. Springer has given her a pathway to reach her goals, and the sky’s the limit.

Last week’s visit to the school and her classroom showed me why she is so excited to get there every day, and when I ask her what she enjoyed most about her day, she says, “Everything!” We were greeted at the door by her teachers, Ms. Ilg and Ms. Lerer, and four beaming faces. The students were all so anxious to show us their work. It was easy to forget that each of these children had his or her own personal struggles with learning, but was now in a safe supportive environment where anything was possible.

This is my granddaughter’s third year here at Springer, and she has flourished. I am so grateful for the wonderfully committed faculty and staff. She takes great pride in being able to sit down with a book that she enjoys and reading it to my daughter and me.

I can see the strategies at work as she sounds out the words until they flow smoothly. Her struggle with reading is now a distant memory. I am also grateful for the friends that she has made here at Springer. Many of these will hopefully develop into lifelong relationships that can only be appreciated when they share the same experiences – good and bad.

I’m sure that I wasn’t alone in the pride that was felt on Tuesday. Several of us commented about our grandchildren’s computer skills. She demonstrated this when she produced her tablet and proceeded to fly through a series of educational games. I can see why her math skills have improved so much.