Kindergarteners learn A is for adoption

Thursday was adoption day at the county courthouse in Grand Rapids, Mich., and one boy brought his kindergarten teacher and classmates with him to the hearing to witness the occasion. Michael Orlando Clark Jr. was one of 37 children adopted that day, according to Kent County’s Facebook page.

Did his classmates do more than observe? They individually introduced themselves to Judge Patricia Gardner and expressed their support for Clark before he and his new parents together banged the gavel to finalize his adoption. “We began the school year as a family,” Clark’s teacher told WZZM-TV in Grand Rapids. “Family doesn’t have to be DNA, because family is support and love.” It was Kent County’s 23rd annual adoption day.

Dig deeper: Read my report in Compassion about how churches are supporting foster families.