“I want to share the discussion that I had with a parent today with you. A parent of a student who participated in Bird by Bird for the first part of the school year approached me during parent teacher conferences today. She thanked me for introducing her daughter to birds. Since participating in Bird by Bird, her daughter rarely leaves the house without a bird book and binoculars. During family trips short and long, this student is now consistently pointing out the birds around them. She said that her daughter has developed an intense passion for birds. This would not have been possible without the B3 program. So I extend her thanks to you two for everything you do to keep the program going. I have seen such amazing things happen in the field with students who struggle in the traditional academic setting. These students are often the first to recognize a bird, or to encourage their peers to be quite on an outing. I will never forget the response of one student with special needs to seeing a wood duck through the spotting scope. He yelled out all of the colors he was seeing with such unabashed enthusiasm and joy, I was nearly brought to tears. Thank you for all of your hard work.”
—Madonna Smith, Teacher, Star Elementary School