A Kentucky student went from being reprimanded by her middle school principal to becoming a member of his family.
Jason Smith initially was Raven Whitaker-Smith’s principal when she was in the sixth grade.
For the first 11 years of her life, Whitaker-Smith said she never felt loved and was stuck living in group homes under terrible conditions.
Jason and his wife, Marybeth Smith, had already been through infertility attempts and fostered kids who eventually returned to their biological families.
At first, Whitaker-Smith was hesitant to be fostered by the principal, but she felt like she belonged after just one weekend visit so Jason and Marybeth Smith officially adopted Whitaker-Smith in 2017 when she was 12 years old.
Whitaker-Smith said she doesn’t think she would be alive today if not for her family.