Everyone has that one teacher that made a big difference in their life and their future. For many students, that teacher is Miss Adela. She’s one of those rare people that puts everyone else before themselves, lives with integrity, and will always take the time to make sure someone is ok. Adela is so much more than a great teacher. She’s a wonderful mother, a great friend, and a loving daughter. She recently lost her mother, Esther Gutierrez, and is being faced with the immense pain that comes with a cherished parent’s passing. There is a special kind of heartbreak when a mother loses her own mother. It’s the loss of the first voice you ever trusted, the first hands that ever held you, and the first person to believe in you.

On any given morning, when you walk into our school, chances are that the first person you’ll see is Miss Adela. For years, she has shown up every day to care for and uplift others’ children and now our community has the opportunity to show up for her. In the midst of grief, no one should have to worry about how to lay their loved one to rest. We hope that the community can come together now for Miss Adela in this time of loss. Please contribute whatever you can in order to support her family with funeral expenses. Every donation not only helps the family, but also helps celebrate the life of a woman who gave us one of our most cherished friends.

A few words from Miss Adela about her mother: “She was the most beautiful, strongest, independent, extremely, extremely, extremely hardworking, stubborn, thoughtful, welcoming & the most giving person out there. She welcomed so many people into her home by showing them kindness & feeding everyone one (literally everyone). Many of our friends are messaging us letting us now how sad they are because she was like a second mother to them. She was the most amazing abuelita. There was nothing she wouldn’t do for her grandkids. She would make them uncle buck pancakes (have you seen those pancakes?) It’s so unreal that she’s gone. My siblings & I have so much to catch up to because she definitely raised that bar so so high.”