CAPE CORAL, Fla. (WBBH) — At Caloosa Elementary School in Cape Coral, peer collaborative teacher Laura Jordan is in the career she always wanted.
It’s a career that was actually born out of tragedy.
“I was 5 years old and I had witnessed my younger sister get hit by a car, and she passed,” she recalled.
Jordan was distraught, quiet and subdued after her sister’s death. She struggled to make connections in school. She felt like an outcast.
“And I had decided, as a young kiddo, that when I grew up I was going to be a teacher. And I was going to make sure that my students felt loved and cared about by their peers as well,” she explained.
Getting to that point, however, would not be easy. While working on her degree as a young wife and mother of two, Jordan’s husband left the family.
“And so I found myself living in public housing and having to rely on public assistance benefits with a newborn and a little over 2-and-a-half year old,” she recalled. “I was going to finish that degree, come one way or another, and not rely on others.”
Jordan took night classes and summer classes — and eventually did get that degree.
And she’s not just become an educator. Now, she’s become a Golden one.
“You do make such an impact on the kiddos without even realizing it,” she said. “They fill my bucket. You know, we talk about bucket-fillers. They fill me up all the time.”
And it’s obvious she means so much to them, too.
“She’s probably like my favorite teacher,” 5th-grade student Mason Long said. “She’s very friendly. She treats us like we’re her kids. And treats us like we’re all family.”
“I’ve had some issues with my dad, he’s been in the hospital. And she’s been there for me when I really needed it,” 5th-grade student Lucas Distel said, holding back tears.
And that’s what it’s all about. After all Jordan has been through to be here, it’s the kids that make the job a dream.
“There’s no other description, other than pure joy of working with students and seeing them learn and grow and building those relationships,” Jordan said.
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