The Champion Every Child Deserves: A Personal Story of One Teacher’s Impact
By Karen Veinbergs, MS, LEP, ABSNP
This week, a notification popped up on my LinkedIn profile that stopped me in my tracks. It wasn’t a connection request from a colleague or a news update from the field of educational psychology. Instead, it was a message from a woman who holds a legendary place in my memory: my middle school English teacher and principal. As I clicked on the message, my heart raced a little. Thirty-five years have passed since I sat in her classroom, yet her name instantly brought back a flood of emotions.
She wrote to tell me how incredibly proud she is of me. She had been following my career, seeing the work we do here at PEC Group, and wanted to reach out and share her joy in my success. It was a beautiful, full-circle moment. But as I read her kind words, I realized something profound. While she was expressing her pride in what I have "become," I don’t think she fully grasps that she is one of the primary reasons I am who I am today. She is a massive part of the "why" behind my journey to becoming a licensed educational psychologist.
When we talk about education, we often focus on curriculum, test scores, and benchmarks. But my story, and the story of so many children we see at PEC Group, is a testament to the fact that the most powerful tool in any classroom isn't a textbook. It is a teacher or an adult who chooses to be a champion for a child who is struggling to find their own voice.
The double mountain of dyslexia and language
To understand the impact this teacher had, you have to understand where I started. I moved to this country from Mexico City as a young girl. Moving to a new country is a massive transition for any child, but I was facing what I now call a "double mountain." I was not only trying to navigate a new culture and learn a brand-new language, English, but I was also dealing with undiagnosed dyslexia.
School was incredibly difficult. In Mexico City, I knew who I was. In the United States, I felt lost. When you are a second-language learner with a learning disability, the world can feel like it’s permanently out of focus. I remember the exhaustion of trying to decode sounds that didn't make sense while simultaneously trying to translate them into a language I was still mastering. It is easy for a child in that position to feel "less than." It is easy to internalize the idea that because you are struggling to keep up, you simply aren't as smart as the kids sitting next to you.
I was at a crossroads. I could have easily become the student who faded into the background, the one who stopped trying because the effort seemed to yield so little reward. I could have been another statistic of a bright child whose potential was masked by the barriers of language and neurodiversity.
The teacher who saw the gifts
Then, I walked into her classroom. She was my middle school English teacher, and she also served as our principal. From the very beginning, she was different. She was nurturing and caring, yes, but it went deeper than just being "nice." She had a way of looking past the struggle to see the person underneath.
Instead of focusing on my "deficits", the words I misspelled, the slow pace of my reading, or my shaky English grammar, she went out of her way to highlight my gifts. She saw my determination. She saw my ability to think critically. She saw a smart, capable girl who just happened to be climbing a very steep hill. She didn't lower her expectations for me; instead, she provided the emotional and academic scaffolding I needed to reach them.
She helped me see that being dyslexic and learning English didn't mean I wasn't smart. In fact, she helped me realize that the grit I was developing just to get through the day was a superpower in its own right. Because she believed in me, I started to believe in myself. That is the "magic" of a champion. When an adult in a position of authority looks a child in the eye and says, "I see you, I believe in you, and I know what you are capable of," it changes the chemistry of that child's future.
Why we do what we do at PEC Group
That experience didn't just help me pass middle school; it set the trajectory for my entire life. It is the reason I dedicated my career to Educational & Psychological Services. Every time I sit down with a family for a school neuropsychological evaluation, I am looking for that same spark I felt in middle school.
At PEC Group, our mission is built on the foundation of finding the "why" behind a child’s struggle. Whether a child is dealing with autism, dyslexia, or ADHD, we know that the diagnosis is only the beginning. The real work is in helping the parents, the teachers, and, most importantly, the child understand that their brain is simply wired differently, not incorrectly.
We often work with students who feel defeated by the school system. They are tired of being told what they can’t do. They are tired of feeling like they are falling behind. When we perform school neurobehavioral evaluations, our goal is to provide a roadmap that highlights a child's strengths. We want to find that one teacher, that one coach, or that one parent who can be the champion that child deserves.
The lasting legacy of a single connection
It has been 35 years since I was in that middle school classroom, and yet, we are still in touch. We connect every once in a while, and each time we do, I am reminded of the weight of her influence. She thought she was just doing her job, teaching English and running a school. But she was doing so much more. She was building a human being.
This is the message I want to share with every educator and parent reading this: You have no idea the power you hold. You might be the only person in a child's life who looks past the "problem behavior" or the "learning gap" to see the brilliant individual waiting to be encouraged.
One person truly can make the world of a difference. For me, she was the bridge between a girl who felt lost in a new country and a woman who now spends her life helping other children find their way. If your child is struggling, please know that the right support and the right "champion" can change everything. You don't have to navigate this alone. Whether you need help with IEP concierge services to ensure your child gets the support they need at school, or you are seeking an independent educational evaluation, we are here to help you find that path.
Finding your child's champion
If you are a parent feeling overwhelmed by your child's struggles in school, I want you to take a deep breath. My story is proof that a "double mountain" can be climbed. It starts with understanding how your child learns and then finding the people who will advocate for them with heart and soul.
We invite you to explore our blog for more resources on supporting neurodiverse learners, or contact us today to learn more about how we can support your family’s journey. Let’s work together to make sure your child finds the champion they deserve, the one who helps them finally believe that they are smart, capable, and ready to achieve anything they want.
Every child is just one adult away from being a success story. I’m so grateful that, 35 years ago, I found mine. To all the teachers out there who see the "gifts" before the "gaps", thank you. You are changing the world, one student at a time.
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