A single teacher revealed that she has adopted her five-year-old student, who she began fostering at only 24 years old – despite her family and friends telling her she was ‘insane’ for taking him in.
Paige Bramlett, now 25, from Indiana, met her now-son, William, when she worked as his behavior specialist when he was in kindergarten.
At the time, he was in foster care system, and she said he had faced ‘endless trauma’ that left him with PTSD.
After going from home to home for more than four years, she decided to welcome him into her own home – a decision that her close pals felt was ‘crazy’ due to her age and marital status.
Paige quickly fell in love with William, and after more than a year of living together – on October 1, 2021 – Paige officially adopted him.
She shared her touching story in an emotional TikTok video, and it quickly went viral – gaining thousands of views in a matter of days.
‘He was my kindergarten student. I was his behavior specialist,’ she began in the sweet clip, which showed her and her son sitting together and reading a book about adoption.
‘He was in foster care and struggled with behaviors from PTSD and trauma. He had been in several homes in four years.
‘One day, he didn’t show up to school, and he had never missed a day. I ran into his caseworker collecting his things in the hallway.
‘She told me they were looking for a forever home for him to be placed in. I introduced myself and asked her what to do to become his forever home.
‘Now, he is adopted, loved, and chosen. My son. We are learning together everyday.
n another video, the mom-of-one opened up about the scrutiny she faced from her peers after deciding to foster William, and she admitted that most of them thought she was ‘insane’ for taking in one of her students.
‘Me, single at 24-years-old explaining to everyone that I’m going to start fostering one of my students,’ she wrote in the TikTok, as a Taylor Swift song played in the background.
‘Everyone,’ she added, while mouthing the lyrics, ‘Oh my God, she’s insane.’
In another video, Paige reminded others that although ‘foster care is so hard,’ it’s ‘worth it,’ as she shared a bunch of clips of her and William doing various activities together – like skiing, dancing, rollerskating and more
‘Foster care is worth it. Can’t believe all of the memories and so many more to go,’ she captioned it.
Many people were moved by Paige’s story and took to the comment section to praise her for her ‘big heart.’
‘You have the absolute biggest heart,’ one person gushed. ‘And your little dude is the absolute cutest.’
‘You are a really special person,’ another added. ‘He is so lucky to have you.’
‘You are not insane at all. I keep telling my fiancé that if one of my students needed a home we would do this,’ a fellow teacher wrote.
Some viewers were even inspired to share their own stories with adoption, with one writing, ‘This makes my heart so happy. I was adopted at 15 by my momma. You gave him a chance to beat the odds and not just be a number.’
‘I love this,’ someone else said. ‘I am a single adoptive mama to four siblings! It’s not easy but our kids deserve the best.’
‘I fostered my now-daughter at 23. She was 14 at the time. I adopted her two years later, and now she is almost 19. It’s a great thing you did,’ another comment read.
Now, Paige and William are excited to celebrate their first Christmas together as mother and son, and they recently adopted a puppy, named Banks.
