{"id":7797,"date":"2024-09-03T18:12:54","date_gmt":"2024-09-03T18:12:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/strongermarriages\/?p=7797"},"modified":"2024-09-03T18:12:54","modified_gmt":"2024-09-03T18:12:54","slug":"forever-home-at-last-kentucky-teacher-adopts-his-student-and-three-siblings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/strongermarriages\/2024\/09\/forever-home-at-last-kentucky-teacher-adopts-his-student-and-three-siblings.html","title":{"rendered":"Forever Home at Last: Kentucky Teacher Adopts His Student and Three Siblings"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Justin Padgett \/ Facebook<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A Kentucky teacher is being praised for helping his student in the ultimate way by adopting him, along with his three siblings. Justin Padgett of Danville, Kentucky, who teaches fifth grade at Highland Elementary School, was helping one of his students, Jayden, in 2021 when he discovered he needed more than just academic help. \u201cI was helping tutor him, one-on-one with reading and social studies. We were just trying to help support his academics. That’s when he called me over to his computer one day and just said, \u2018I have to be adopted,\u2019\u201d Padgett recalled.<\/p>\n

He took the student aside to find out more. There, he found out the Jayden\u2019s parents had lost their parental rights, but that his current foster parents couldn\u2019t adopt him and his three siblings. But he already had a parent in mind- Padgett himself. \u201cHe was nice to me, and he always helps me. He was a really loving person, so I just wanted him to love me and my family,\u201d Jayden said. Justin and his wife, Kasey, had been praying for a family and were in the process of taking foster care classes. Justin was touched by Jayden\u2019s predicament, and so he decided to call his wife and tell her about the encounter. \u201cI said, \u2018Hey, I’ve got a kiddo in my class that needs to be adopted, and he’s got three siblings. I asked her, \u2018What are your thoughts about that? How would you feel about that?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Kasey and Justin decided to step out in faith and began the process of fostering to adopt the children in April 2021. They began by taking them to church, where the two served as youth leaders. At first, they kept the possibility of adoption quiet. \u201cLife can happen, and, you know, we could back out or something could change in the court system. [The kids] ended up finding out, but we were already having weekend visits at that point and getting their rooms ready.\u201d The children moved into their new foster home in July. On March 3, 2022, they officially adopted all four children. \u201cOur lives are complete. We have left it all up to God to put us where we need to be at the right time. I feel fulfilled,\u201d said Justin.<\/p>\n

Both Kasey and Justin hope their story will encourage others to consider adopting older children, who are often left floundering in the foster care system for years. \u201cAt that age, they’ve been through so much trauma \u2014 being removed from their home, going through foster care \u2014 that they really need special love and attention. And they are going to need resources for mental health, as well as guidance and assistance getting into college or trade school or wherever they go in life,\u201d said Kasey. And, despite already being a family of six, the couple is open to expanding their family, either naturally or through adopting. \u201cThe doors are open for whatever God has for us.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Kentucky teacher is being praised for helping his student in the ultimate way by adopting him, along with his three siblings. Justin Padgett of Danville, Kentucky, who teaches fifth grade at Highland Elementary School, was helping one of his students, Jayden, in 2021 when he discovered he needed more than just academic help. \u201cI…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":627,"featured_media":7800,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[752],"class_list":["post-7797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-parenting","tag-adoption"],"yoast_head":"\nForever Home at Last: Kentucky Teacher Adopts His Student and Three Siblings<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/strongermarriages\/2024\/09\/forever-home-at-last-kentucky-teacher-adopts-his-student-and-three-siblings.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Forever Home at Last: Kentucky Teacher Adopts His Student and Three Siblings\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A Kentucky teacher is being praised for helping his student in the ultimate way by adopting him, along with his three siblings. Justin Padgett of Danville, Kentucky, who teaches fifth grade at Highland Elementary School, was helping one of his students, Jayden, in 2021 when he discovered he needed more than just academic help. \u201cI…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/strongermarriages\/2024\/09\/forever-home-at-last-kentucky-teacher-adopts-his-student-and-three-siblings.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Stronger Marriages\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-09-03T18:12:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/413\/2024\/09\/KY-teacher-adopts-student_credit-Justin-Padgett-Facebook.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Cecilia Buchanan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Forever Home at Last: Kentucky Teacher Adopts His Student and Three Siblings","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/strongermarriages\/2024\/09\/forever-home-at-last-kentucky-teacher-adopts-his-student-and-three-siblings.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Forever Home at Last: Kentucky Teacher Adopts His Student and Three Siblings","og_description":"A Kentucky teacher is being praised for helping his student in the ultimate way by adopting him, along with his three siblings. 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