A Second Grade Teacher Spotted One Student In Her Class And Quickly Reached For The Phone

We hope you’re ready for the emotional roller coaster to come, folks! You’ll probably need some tissues handy. So, let’s dive into it. What made Loralie’s life so tricky before she walked into that class? Well, the little girl was a foster child. And like we suggested, her story is surprisingly common.

Yes, according to the ABC 7 website, close to 19,000 kids find themselves in a similar position across California’s Los Angeles County. Wow. That’s an eye-opening figure, right? In addition to that, over 600 of those youngsters require a forever home. Who knew the numbers could be so high?

And the jaw-dropping stats don’t end there. L.A. County’s Department of Children and Family Services’ Child Protection Hotline is heavily involved in this area, taking a huge number of phone calls every day. We’re talking roughly 800 as a standard figure. Holy smokes. How do they cope with that?

Well, when things are at their busiest, some 90 welfare workers are deployed to keep tabs on the phone lines. Incredibly, they can be contacted 100 times or so every 60 minutes. That’s a lot to deal with. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, though, the figures decreased rather dramatically across 2020.

As per ABC 7, the 800 daily calls dipped by nearly a quarter that year. But those working on the hotline in L.A. County weren’t the only ones to notice the impact of the pandemic. You see, young Loralie was affected by it, too, as we’ll discover a little later.

Prior to COVID, Loralie had already faced her fair share of ups and downs — more than any kid should have to deal with, really. The sad part is that she wasn’t alone in that respect, though. The eye-watering figures from California prove that. And one other story in particular stood out.

Much like Loralie, a little boy named Jaxon was already very familiar with the challenges that can come with being a foster child. He entered the network as a five-year-old, and was still there after turning ten. The kid was hoping for a way out, but COVID only made that harder.

Jaxon was a good kid as well — his school work was exemplary, and people couldn’t help but pick up on his loving personality. The young man stood out in a similar way to Loralie when she first walked into that second grade class. So, why was he finding it so tough to get noticed by families?

A psychologist offered their view on this topic. His name is Luwin Kwan, and he helps youngsters in the foster system. Speaking in December 2021, Kwan told ABC 7, “I think there’s a stigma attached to kids in foster care. Oftentimes when people hear that, they think that the kids are problematic and come with a slew of behavioral and emotional issues.”

“[But] a lot of them have so much joy, personality, and just need love,” Kwan continued. “[The kids] just need someone to care for them and be their support, and love and nurture them on top of providing basic needs. They really just need more people in their corner and someone to just be behind them 100 percent unconditionally.”

In Jaxon’s case, he and those around him were certainly doing all they could to find that special someone. For instance, the youngster was working with a group called the Heart Gallery — “a national traveling photographic exhibit,” as described by ABC 7. L.A. County’s Department of Children and Family Services arranged it.

The Heart Gallery’s goal was simple. With pro snappers at the helm, they’d capture shots of foster children searching for a family to adopt them. It was a way to get their faces out there. For Jaxon, he was paired up with a camerawoman named Brooke Nevin — and she recognized the importance of her job.

Nevin informed ABC 7, “I am an actor by trade and also I work behind the camera as a director sometimes as well. I know what it’s like to take a headshot. I know how much can be riding on one picture to have someone choose you.” An interesting comparison, right?

And Nevin did have some previous successes to her name. She continued, “I got my first opportunity to do a portrait session, and not shortly after I found out the little girl I took pictures of had found her forever family. That is just the best feeling in the world.”

While Jaxon was still on the lookout for a family in December 2021, Nevin’s past experiences should’ve given him a boost. Why couldn’t he be another success story like that earlier little girl? Anyway, speaking of young ladies, that brings us back to Loralie’s tale. How did her journey compare with his?

Well, Loralie opened up during a chat with ABC 7. She revealed, “I was actually in foster when I was four. Then [I was] back in foster care when I was six. It was actually really scary, too. I didn’t know what to expect.” Poor kid! And her thoughts didn’t end there, either.

Loralie continued, “I didn’t really know what to do. So I thought, ‘Well, like, what should I do? Like, is there anyone waiting for me?’ I was really scared.” But guess what? That fear made way for feelings of optimism and excitement when she got ready to join a new school.

So, it’s time to return to Zoe Henry. What’s her role in this story? The educator went into a bit more detail about herself, and the day she met Loralie at the school, in April 2022. It’s quite the ride! Zoe was speaking on the Tamron Hall Show via a webcam.

Zoe said, “I had subbed at the school the year before. They called me and asked if I wanted to take over this class, and I of course jumped at the situation. My friend at the school said I was going to have her foster daughter in my class.” You can probably guess who that was!

“That first meeting, I’ll never forget it,” Zoe recalled. “[Loralie] was all dressed-up and ready to come be in the second grade. I have memories of her being so silly, and she just was very spunky, very passionate, very fun. We thought she was only going to be there for about 30 days.”

You see, it looked like someone was finally going to take Loralie out of foster care at that point. Everything appeared to be in place. Yet just like in the past, the youngster’s hopes were dashed. The interested clan walked away in the end, leaving her in an all-too familiar position.

Loralie touched on the difficulties she regularly faced while speaking to the Tamron Hall Show via webcam. The kid said, “I never knew my amount of time when I was at each foster house. Everything changed, and then I’d just go to another home. It just kept going like that.”

So, it looked like that cycle would continue following the latest disappointment. But Zoe was desperate to break it once and for all. The teacher noted, “I didn’t want [Loralie] to go to another stranger’s house. And I said, ‘Please, let me have her.’” This wasn’t a snap decision, either — she’d been thinking about it for a while.

As Zoe told ABC 7, “[Loralie] came into my class, and I took just one look at her. Her little freckles, her little birthmark. [I said], ‘I am going to adopt this little girl. She’s my daughter,’ the minute I set eyes on her.” Prior to that, the educator, who’s a single parent, hadn’t even considered the thought of bringing another kid home.

Quite a switch, right? But now we’ve got one more question — what else was driving Zoe on to pursue this? Well, following their webcam chats, she and Loralie appeared onstage at the Tamron Hall Show to continue telling their story. The mom had a bit to say to the host regarding her mindset.

Zoe said, “I was so in love with this little girl. I knew what being in foster care was like, and how much trauma [Loralie] had been through. I just knew that if I could have her, I could love her.” Is anyone else getting a little teary-eyed, or is it just us? And she didn’t stop there.

“As a teacher, you want to make all your students have a better life,” Zoe continued. “But when I had [Loralie] in my classroom, I knew the trauma and I knew the difficulties she’d already faced. I had a connection with her. I wanted her, I knew she was mine.”

What about Loralie, though? How did she feel knowing that her second grade teacher was now pushing to adopt her? Well, the youngster came clean in front of the cameras. Apparently, she didn’t see it coming at all, despite Zoe’s growing love for her. She had a few other thoughts to share, too.

Loralie told the audience, “I was surprised [that Zoe wanted to adopt me]. I didn’t expect her to say that. I don’t know what I expected. I didn’t know what my future was going to look like. Sometimes at night when I went to bed, I worried about [whether] I had a bad future or not.”

“Every night, I missed my biological mother,” Loralie added. “It was really hard to move to different [homes].” That’s a lot of emotional stuff to deal with, right? Most adults would struggle to get a handle on it, let alone a kid! Anyway, once Zoe made her intentions known, what happened next?

Well, that brings us back to the pandemic. Like we noted earlier, it made things pretty tricky here. Loralie and Zoe forged their connection in 2019, just months before everything went into lockdown. When that happened, the teacher couldn’t adopt her. Instead, the duo had to play a lengthy waiting game.

Looking back on that time, Zoe continued her conversation with ABC 7 in December 2021. The single mom recalled, “With COVID, things got a little bit delayed. The court shut down, and then once they [had] filed the adoption paperwork [there was] another delay assigning an attorney. Because of COVID, there were a lot of kids that needed to be adopted.”

“So these attorneys were backlogged with all these kids,” Zoe said. “It seems like it’s taken forever [but] I’m just so grateful for every little step that we’ve been through together.” Yes, on November 20, 2021, the wait was finally over for her and Loralie. It was a special day in more ways than one, too.

You see, National Adoption Day fell on that date. As good a time as any to do it, wouldn’t you agree? So, Loralie was joined by more than 160 other kids who were also welcomed into new homes on the day. Due to the pandemic, though, it had to be done virtually. Yet that didn’t seem to bother them.

After two years, Loralie could now say she was an official member of the Henry family. What a great moment! As for Zoe, she made an interesting comment about her adopted daughter’s biological mother. The teacher appeared to have a lot of empathy for her, as we’ll soon find out.

Zoe told ABC 7, “There’s so many kids that just need homes, and they’re just waiting. I know [Loralie’s] mom really loves her. I know she really wanted to be a better part of her life. But like I tell [Loralie], her mom loved her so much that she would let her be adopted so that I could give her what she needed.”

The incredible story gained a lot of news coverage, with overseas outlets sharing it in December 2021. Yes, U.K. newspapers such as The Sun, the Mirror, and the Daily Mail all covered it via their respective websites. Meanwhile, the Tamron Hall Show posted Zoe and Loralie’s segment on YouTube in April 2022.

At the time of writing, that video has earned just under 4,000 views. It’s also generated some very warm messages from YouTube users in the comments section, hailing the wonderful tale. Away from that, though, we’ve got one last question to ask — what are Zoe and Loraline’s plans going forward now?

Well, Zoe provided an intriguing answer. She informed ABC 7, “We have a four-bedroom house and we’ve got a bedroom with several beds. And that’s why we go on the Heart Gallery [page]. We still have a lot of room in our hearts, in our home, and we want to open it up to more kids.” Watch this space, then!