A Thank You Letter to My Brother's Classmates

Blog post written by Laura Hertzog for her brother David Hertzog about his school experience

On May 22nd, 2015 at 7:00 in the evening I witnessed something incredible; I witnessed my brother with Down syndrome dressed in his royal blue cap and gown line up for high school graduation. Sure, every year thousands and thousands of high school seniors graduate from their respective high schools. However, this moment was monumental for myself and my family for different reasons. My brother, David, would not be receiving a high school diploma and in fact he will be continuing on with his “high school” education. However, David would not have the success he had if it were not for his classmates.

While it was an emotional and joyous event to watch my brother walk across the stage in front of everyone to commemorate his thirteen years of education at our hometown’s public school, it was equally important to watch his classmates graduate. David sat surrounded by about a hundred of his peers who he has grown to love and call friends. A hundred people, who made David feel welcome each and every day he entered school. A hundred people, who never saw David as impartial but saw and respected him as a peer. A hundred people, who voted him and his best friend as “most likely to light up a room” in senior polls. The list could go on and on, but truly on Friday May 22nd, David sat surrounded by people who his educational experience the most positive experience for him and our family we could have asked for.

When David entered kindergarten my mother was scared. She was scared of the way in which his peers would react to David. He entered school, unable to talk, with a pacemaker and feeding tube, scarred from all of his surgeries, and appeared very different from his peers. David was in fact the “poster child” for bullying. My mother was so terrified that she started a whole organization devoted to ensuring my brother would not be bullied (a little over the top). However, we realized throughout the years, while my mother has done incredible things through her organization, she simply did not need to worry about Watertown-Mayer’s class of 2015. They were the “poster children” for inclusion of people with disabilities. I cannot think of one day I worried if David would be bullied at school. In fact, I was happy that David was at school because I knew he would be surrounded by smiling, accepting faces throughout the day. I still get chills thinking about the cheers David received when he walked across the stage on graduation night from his fellow classmates. And that is a true testament to the character of the Watertown-Mayer Class of 2015.

So members of Watertown-Mayer Class of 2015, thank you. I do not think myself or my family could sum up our gratitude in those two words. Thank you for taking extra time to understand David’s slurred speech to make sure you could engage in a conversation with him. Thank you always asking myself or my other family members where David was when he was absent at school events. Thank you for being in all the pictures David wanted to take of you or with you. Thank you for giving David a high five in the hall way or a “knocks” as you passed him in the hallway. Thank you for including him in your groups in classes at school. Thank you for never mocking the way he walked or talked. And most importantly, thank you for including him for thirteen years.

David’s educational experience could have been awful, but it was absolutely the opposite. Each day David came home from school with a smile on his face. He loved school and his classmates so much we did not think he would go to the graduation ceremony because he was so angry that school was ending for him. My hope for the members of the Class of 2015, is your take you caring and accepting attitude where ever life takes you in life. You truly are an exceptional group of young men and women and as an older sister I am beyond thankful you were the group my brother attended school with.

Thank you.

As for all of David’s teachers, I could write a novel about how great each of you are….and just might have to.