Short teacher adds to family
My AISD
Volume 1, Issue 3, February 2016
Short teacher adds to family Short Elementary kindergarten teacher Angela Lilley knew she wasn’t in the best of situations in 2011 when two students at the school were in need of help. But Lilley didn’t see any other way, and now 4 ½ years later Lilley and her husband Paul Harvey are the parents of five instead of three. It was far from an easy decision and it hasn’t always been a smooth ride, but now twin brothers Noah M. and Isaiah M. are better off with their adopted family, and that’s all that really matters to Lilley. “Once we heard the whole story about what was happening, I came home and talked to my husband about it,” Lilley said. “You know, being a teacher you hear a lot of stories. For some reason this one really stuck with me. I’d hear a little bit of the story and a little bit of the story. By the time I got involved in sixth grade, I started piecing it all together. I came home one day before Christmas and said, ‘We’ve got to do something.’ [Harvey] goes, ‘Let’s go find them.’” Lilley, who has been a teacher at Short for nine years, met Noah when he joined student council as a sixth grader. Noah told Lilley his brother Isaiah needed to be with him wherever he went. After Lilley agreed to that, she began finding out more about a home situation that wasn’t good at the time.
From left, Paul Harvey, Isaiah M., Zoe Harvey, Angela Lilley, Noah M. and Ethan Lilley. The Morgan brothers were bouncing from homes to friends houses to sometimes sleeping on the streets. Lilley’s oldest son Ethan befriended the two so they would have a place to come with a stable home environment. It started with them coming over for a couple of days. Those days turned to weeks and then Noah and Isaiah would only return to their birth mother
when absolutely necessary. At one point, there was a 10-day span in which neither had heard from their birth mother. That led Lilley and Harvey to contact the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services and the police department to see what their options were. They were told as long as they MORE LILLEY, PAGE 4 went six months without a relative
A message from Dr. Cavazos It’s hard to believe that there’s only three months remaining in the 2015-2016 school year. It’s been an amazing school year, and we have great things on the horizon. We continue to roll out our new strategic plan, and the feedback we’ve received on
it has been positive. There’s more information on the plan on page 3 of My AISD. The newsletter continues to highlight just a few of our many success stories. We have further proof that our teachers put the children first, with the story of Short teacher Angela Lilley on page 1.
We also see how former AISD students makes difference. Juan Gonzalez Jr., whose father was a superstar for the Texas Rangers, is an AISD product who’s working in the district trying to make an impact. That story on page 2 is proof our mission is working.
Volume 1, Issue 3, February 2016
Short teacher adds to family Short Elementary kindergarten teacher Angela Lilley knew she wasn’t in the best of situations in 2011 when two students at the school were in need of help. But Lilley didn’t see any other way, and now 4 ½ years later Lilley and her husband Paul Harvey are the parents of five instead of three. It was far from an easy decision and it hasn’t always been a smooth ride, but now twin brothers Noah M. and Isaiah M. are better off with their adopted family, and that’s all that really matters to Lilley. “Once we heard the whole story about what was happening, I came home and talked to my husband about it,” Lilley said. “You know, being a teacher you hear a lot of stories. For some reason this one really stuck with me. I’d hear a little bit of the story and a little bit of the story. By the time I got involved in sixth grade, I started piecing it all together. I came home one day before Christmas and said, ‘We’ve got to do something.’ [Harvey] goes, ‘Let’s go find them.’” Lilley, who has been a teacher at Short for nine years, met Noah when he joined student council as a sixth grader. Noah told Lilley his brother Isaiah needed to be with him wherever he went. After Lilley agreed to that, she began finding out more about a home situation that wasn’t good at the time.
From left, Paul Harvey, Isaiah M., Zoe Harvey, Angela Lilley, Noah M. and Ethan Lilley. The Morgan brothers were bouncing from homes to friends houses to sometimes sleeping on the streets. Lilley’s oldest son Ethan befriended the two so they would have a place to come with a stable home environment. It started with them coming over for a couple of days. Those days turned to weeks and then Noah and Isaiah would only return to their birth mother
when absolutely necessary. At one point, there was a 10-day span in which neither had heard from their birth mother. That led Lilley and Harvey to contact the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services and the police department to see what their options were. They were told as long as they MORE LILLEY, PAGE 4 went six months without a relative
A message from Dr. Cavazos It’s hard to believe that there’s only three months remaining in the 2015-2016 school year. It’s been an amazing school year, and we have great things on the horizon. We continue to roll out our new strategic plan, and the feedback we’ve received on
it has been positive. There’s more information on the plan on page 3 of My AISD. The newsletter continues to highlight just a few of our many success stories. We have further proof that our teachers put the children first, with the story of Short teacher Angela Lilley on page 1.
We also see how former AISD students makes difference. Juan Gonzalez Jr., whose father was a superstar for the Texas Rangers, is an AISD product who’s working in the district trying to make an impact. That story on page 2 is proof our mission is working.
