Students need to know that we, as a nation, not only hear them but are LISTENING.

My name is Makayla LaGasse (17yrs old), I have a younger sister named Jordan LaGasse (13yrs old).  Although, we have been lucky to attend great schools, we see, hear and have experienced some sad things over the years.  

Examples are:  Us losing our dad the day after Christmas in a really bad car accident.  We both have been bullied, peer pressured and even felt like not living anymore. 

I've even had 2 major brain surgeries all while still trying to maintain my grades.  

My mom is a great mom but when we aren't with her, we have to be strong on our own and lots of times that's hard because we go to school to learn and can't really worry about our feelings or outside life events.  It effects our work and focus and shows in our grades.  

There are students at the schools we have attended that have a much harder life than my sister and I. We try to be supportive anytime we can but can't really talk to them or connect with them because we have to focus on the classwork and lunch time is too short to really connect.  

We wish so much that there was a class that allowed us to be able to talk about our concerns, know how to remember it's okay to make mistakes or even be able to help those realize that there are people that care about them. I hear all the time that we need to just be strong and do the right thing, to not focus on the bad things in life...but even though I have someone that listens and helps my sister and I get through these tough times, there are sooooo many other students that I know who don't even have a support system at home to give them tools and support when needed.  

Why can't we change our schools in a way to focus on us?

My name is Holly LaGasse and I'm a single parent of 2 beautiful girls.  

As a parent, knowing that my girls go to a safe, caring and educational focused school is very important to me.  Why? because I'm entrusting that school with my children's lives for well over 7 hrs a day.  

I have struggled these last 7 years, accepting that my daughters are dealing with suicide, abuse, drugs, peer pressure, bullying and mass shootings in some form or fashion.  They have either had to deal with it first-hand, knowing someone who dealt/dealing with it, or emotionally affected by national/local news reports about it.

I do the best I can to help teach and guide my girls to remain strong, yet, aware of things they can't control outside of their own beliefs and feelings.  However, we (as adults) have a MUCH larger issue.  

The fact is, not all youth have supportive and caring parents/guardians that want to help build their child's mental and physical being outside of the home. Nor do all parents/guardians come with the educational background to manage or handle every type of situation that our youth may encounter.  We do the best we can out of love and concern for their well-being.  

I personally had to deal with my daughter's school calling to tell me some very heart-breaking news that they either had to deal with or are still dealing with internally.  None of which were about math, music, science, history, art, P.E, etc...

My heart cries out all the time for my girls, as well as, for those that don't have someone believing in them or even listening to them.  

IT'S TIME TO MAKE A CHANGE IN OUR SCHOOLS !!!!

We have some pretty amazing teachers and the hard part of their every day job is to juggle not just teaching Math, History, English, Science, etc.. but also wearing other hats that they are not truly required or certified to handle.  Their career title stands for caring not just teaching so these extra hats come because they have a heart and want to see the best in their students.    

“We’re not just teachers. – The word ‘teacher’ just doesn’t cover it. We’re also nurses, psychologists, recess monitors, social workers, parental counselors, secretaries, copy machine mechanics, and almost literally parents, in some instances, to our students. If you’re in a corporate setting, you can say, ‘That’s not in my job description.’ When you’re a teacher, you have to be ready for everything and anything to be thrown at you on a given day. And there’s no turning it down.” — Beth Lewis, from About.Com

The thing that is missing from schools that could relieve a little bit of stress on other teachers is a class that focus on teaching self-esteem, self-awareness, self-motivation and self-efficacy.  These type of tools are used in everyday life no matter what profession chosen.