With a little help from her friends

When a child is considered “different,” daily school life can be very traumatic.

But not for China Grove Elementary School fifth-grader Hannah Rowland.

Thanks to Keely Jones, Sarah Cross, Caleb Goodman and Micheal Wirz, four students known as Hannah’s Helpers.”

Hannah, 11, has Down’s Syndrome. Although she functions very well around children her age, she takes special learning classes like ICC, which stands for inter-cross-categorical, an inclusion class she takes with other students who have learning disabilities.

Hannah begins every morning in homeroom with teacher Lori Blackledge. After homeroom, Hannah goes to ICC class with teachers Lisa Burleson and Jane McDonald.

Because Hannah is a very curious child, the time between classes can be an adventure.

Hannah is easy to distract and often wants to wander off in other parts of the school, especially if something interests her.

This is where Hannah’s Helpers are important.

Keely, Sarah, Caleb and Micheal accompany Hannah through different transitions of the day.

After homeroom, Keely gathers Hannah’s books and her other materials and escorts her to her ICC teacher. After ICC class, Sarah walks with Hannah back to Blackledge’s class just as Caleb does after lunch.

At the end of the day, Micheal sacrifices part of his recess time to accompany Hannah to the cafeteria, where her mom picks her up.

Sounds easy?

Sometimes it can be, but at other times, the students can spend several minutes tackling the three flights of steps they must take to her class, fighting her tendency to avoid going to class and grabbing her attention when other things distract her.

When Hannah gets stubborn, “you just have to put your foot down and say, ‘Come on, Hannah, let’s go’, and she’ll stop and come on,” 11-year-old Caleb said.

Caleb said Hannah really takes her time after lunch. He said he has to pretend to be a little mean just to get Hannah to get to class.

“It kinda startles her to see me get a little stern, but she knows I mean well.I don’t like to be that way to her, but if I don’t do it, she’ll try to take advantage,” Caleb said.

The students say they enjoy helping Hannah, and being her friend.

“Hannah is so funny,” Sarah, also 11, said. “She really keeps us laughing, so you can’t help but like her.”

Aside from all of the fun they have with Hannah, all four students know that being Hannah’s helper is a major responsibility.

“Helping Hannah is just like a job. If you can’t do it, you’ll get fired.” Keely said.

Agreeing with Keely, Micheal said it’s good to have responsibilities. “Being a responsible person is a valuable characteristic to have,” Micheal said. “I like helping people with disadvantages, which is why I wanted to help Hannah.”

Blackledge said the four students are special and Hannah is fortunate to have such a great group of friends.

Hannah is shy and softspoken around strangers, but she said she likes her friends. And Hannah’s mom is very happy that her classmates are willing to help her, Blackledge said.

“Although all of my students wanted to help Hannah, I don’t think I could’ve chosen a better group of kids,” Blackledge said. “They are just a great, responsible and mature bunch.”

Noticing how special those group of kids were, Blackledge decided to nominate them for a Service Above Self Award, sponsored annually by the Rowan Rotary Club and Rowan County United Way.

It was obvious that Blackledge wasn’t the only one to notice, and it showed on the night of the awards ceremony when Hannah’s Helpers won first place for the K-5 Group Award.

“We didn’t even know that we were nominated for the award until Ms. Blackledge told us the day before the ceremony,” Caleb said.

Keeping their fingers crossed and their eyes tight in prayer on the awards night, they all said that when Jim Duncan, the emcee, called the group’s name, they leaped to their feet with joy.

“We’re gonna always remember that night,” one of the children said.

“And it will leave something behind for the other classes to see,” Caleb said.

For first place, Hannah’s Helpers received a plaque, which they keep at school; a certificate, which they gave to Hannah; and $500 for their school.

Next year, Hannah and her helpers will attend China Grove Middle School. Since middle school is structured differently than elementary school, the helpers won’t be designated to help her, but they all said that they will do what they can to help Hannah.

“I wish I could keep everyone of them,” Blackledge said. “When they all leave me next year, I am gonna miss them, but at least Hannah will see some familiar faces.”

But until then, Hannah’s Helpers will continue their daily routine.

“All of us (helpers) truly loved helping Hannah this year, and I’m sure we’ll miss helping her next year,” Sarah said. “But in a way, we’ll always be Hannah’s Helpers, and if she ever needs us, we’ll be right there to help her.”

Contact Cortney L. Hill at 704-797-4249 or chill@salisburypost.com .