Alabama second-graders celebrate their classmate's adoption day with a special field trip

The day when a child is adopted and given a loving home is significant and memorable. The students of Danville-Neel Elementary School in Danville, Alabama were jubilant when the adoption day of their classmate finally happened. To celebrate this happy occasion in 9-year-old Jasmine's life, they decided to do something special, per Good Morning America. Twenty-second graders from the school went on a special field trip known as "Jasmine Day" to the Morgan County Courthouse in Decatur to meet Jasmine and her family.

Jasmine's teacher, principal, family, and the Alabama Department of Human Resources all participated in the celebration. They are all a member of the "village" that, according to Jasmine's mother Melanie Brown, surrounds and supports them. Brown said, "I am adopted myself and I remember schoolkids [being] mean - 'Oh you're that unwanted little adopted kid.' And so, I just told my husband Anthony, I said, 'It would be so neat since Jasmine has been in the same school with these kids - kindergarten, first grade, second grade - if they could come."

Brown took the decision to order personalized T-shirts for the event after getting approval from the school and the kids. She said, "Our shirt said: 'We love our village.' Jasmine's shirt said 'I love my village' and then the classroom and everybody that came, like [Alabama Department of Human Resources] workers and the [Court Appointed Special Advocates] worker and everybody, their shirts said 'We are the village.'" The mother further revealed that Jasmine had been in six foster homes and everyone wanted to adopt her. However, it never worked out until she came to the Brown household. Jasmine's adoption day came almost a year after she first arrived at the Brown home on Feb. 10, 2022. 

She said, "I told my husband Anthony, I said, 'God didn't work it out for Jasmine to be adoptable when she was in that home or that home or that home.' I said, 'He worked it out when she was with us so even though this is not part of our plan, it is his plan.' And so we just had to say yes." Jasmine gave the Browns an immediate response when they asked whether she wanted to be adopted. Brown recalled, "I asked her, 'Do you know what does adoption mean?' And she said, 'It means I would never have to leave this house.' And so we knew...we wanted to make sure that she wanted us to adopt her."

Twelve children, including six adopted children and three foster children, currently live with the Browns. On the day of her adoption, Jasmine was "so excited," according to Tara Morrow, Jasmine's principal, and Brown. "I think it was great for those kids to get to witness that and see how that works," Morrow said. "You hear about adoption but if you've never been a part of one, you really don't know the legality part of it and how it all goes down. So I think that was a great experience for them to be able to be a part of that."