A teacher has adopted her most “badly behaved” student to give him a better life.
Teach for America member Chelsea Haley met Jerome Robinson five years ago when she began working with the non-profit organisation.
The charity aims to provide support for underprivileged children and teenagers in America who may be attending low-income schools.
Jerome and his brother, Jace, came from a low-income family and were living in poverty.
The older brother also tended to be difficult in school, and Chelsea was the only member of staff who was able to calm him down.
The adoptive mother told CNN that she and Jerome formed a bond that no other teacher was able to form.
She also said that God had told her she was meant to be the teen’s mother.
She said:
“It was just a combination of tragedy coupled with the other social situations you face when you live in poverty.
“I never thought I’d be a single mum at age 24, especially of two boys, one of which was my 12-year-old student. And the other one who was only a year-and-a-half.”
As well as taking Jerome into her life, Chelsea also adopted Jace too.
The brothers had been living with their mother and grandmother beforehand and the family had recently experienced the deaths of two other close family members.
Since his adoption, Jerome has not been suspended from school.
Chelsea regularly shares updates of her life as a new mother on her Facebook page.
This month, she shared Jerome’s grades in school, saying that she thought he was headed for a scholarship.
