As a young child, Stacey Jadwin played school with all her dolls and stuffed animals lined up as her students. Her family always remarked she was just like her grandmother, who was a teacher.

From these early experiences came the realization that being in the classroom as a teacher was all she really wanted, although she took a round-about-route to get there.

When her Dad transferred to Birmingham from New Orleans in 1996, Stacey was attending Southeastern Louisiana University.

She took a break and decided to move with her parents and younger sister Dana. Older brother Jason lived in Atlanta.

Jadwin met and married her husband Paul and began a family before starting part-time at the University of Montevallo.

Daughter Kayla and then son Michael were born.

After the birth of son Michael, Jadwin began in earnest to pursue her dream fulltime and that was not easy with two small children. “Juggling school and a young family was very difficult but I was bound and determined to teach,” she said. “I would not be totally happy until I was in a classroom working with children.”

She did her student teaching at Creek View Elementary in Gretchen Zagar’s first-grade class. This seemed to be the perfect fit for Jadwin.

She graduated from the University of Montevallo in December 2003, took over another teacher’s maternity leave for the remainder of the school year and was offered a full-time position for the fall of 2004.

Having taught first grade for six years now, the Jadwins have fallen in love with their community and church. Daughter Emma, 3, joined the family after Jadwin was firmly situated at Creek View.

Jadwins’ husband has taken a job with a bank in Nolensville, Tennessee. This move will take the Jadwins to a new home, church and community. The only home she has ever known, other than New Orleans, is Alabaster. She will be leaving her parents, and although that’s difficult, Jadwin knows her husband loves this job. He’s been commuting for five months now.

She said, “This is going to be a rough move, but in the end I believe God has the plan for my family and that plan includes a new beginning in Franklin, Tennessee.”

Jadwin hopes her students will remember her as a teacher who always showed them love, compassion and never stopped believing in them. Jadwin said, “Every child is special and every child can learn.”

Godspeed Jadwins.

Sandra Thames writes a weekly column for the Alabaster Reporter. You can reach her at bobthames192@yahoo.com.