HARRISONBURG, Va. (AP) - Angela Leffel and three of her children were seated around their kitchen table Monday afternoon, considering their next move.
Each was armed with seven cards that they sought to get rid of before the other Kings in the Corner players.
“I know you have a four and an ace,” 17-year-old Dallas Leffel said to his 11-year-old brother, Conner.
Their 15-year-old sister, Katelyn, looked on, occasionally making jokes.
Kings in the Corner, a multiplayer solitaire-style game, is one way the family spends time together outside of work and school.
The thrift store find has become a favorite among the three children, who Leffel adopted nearly four years ago after being two of the siblings’ teacher at Spotswood Elementary School.
Since they began living with Leffel, the siblings have grown more confident and have opened their eyes to future career opportunities.
“They’ve learned a lot,” said Leffel, 49, a physical education teacher. “They’ve gained a lot of self-respect, seeing they can do things. They have the abilities; they’re smart.”
They ’Felt Like My Kids’
Leffel had been teaching at Spotswood for 20 years when she decided to start fostering students.
“We had a lot of kids leave our school because of foster care, and that was hard because they were going to live with strangers,” she said.
By choosing to take in children attending Spotswood, Leffel hoped to provide them an opportunity to stay at their school.
In October 2011, when Leffel was on her way to Texas for a family reunion, she received a phone call asking her to foster Spotswood first-grader Conner and Katelyn, a fifth-grader at Thomas Harrison Middle School.
“I had taught Conner and Katelyn at school so when I got a call about them, I immediately said ’yes,’” she said.
Upon returning from her trip, the two moved in with Leffel, who had just purchased a house on Franklin Street.
“It felt nicer than going to someone I didn’t know,” said Conner, now a sixth-grader at THMS.
Dallas, who was staying with another family while he healed from a head injury, joined his siblings in June 2012.
“I was excited because I hadn’t lived with my brother and sister for a few months,” said Dallas, who is a junior at Harrisonburg High School.
Conner’s first-grade teacher, Jen Dameron, saw him grow academically and socially after he began living with Leffel.
Before, he had struggled to read and sound out words. Now, Dameron rarely sees him without a book.
“I think in first grade, he had so many factors that were distracting him. . Once we focused on those outside factors . he made so much progress,” she said.
Dameron noticed a strong relationship between Leffel and the three children.
“It’s amazing to see how connected they were from the very beginning. I feel like they’ve always been open and honest with each other,” she said.
Angie Adamek, a counselor at Spotswood, also has noticed the children become more confident.
“(Dallas and Katelyn are) always good at talking with adults and know how to conduct themselves around adults and children,” she said.
Dallas, who plans to attend Blue Ridge Community College and study genetics after graduating, said moving in with Leffel provided him and his siblings with stability.
“I think it’s better now than when we were growing up because we moved around a lot,” he said.
After spending several months getting to know Dallas, Conner and Katelyn, a sophomore at HHS, Leffel decided to pursue adoption.
“I got very attached to them,” she said. “I was very happy to adopt them when the time came. … They already felt like my kids.”
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