JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – As we walked into Ana MacReynolds’ kindergarten class, her students were in the middle of a writing lesson.
Remember the paper with the wide lines separated by dashes when you were learning to write? That’s what was sitting on the table in front of each of them.
They had those thick pencils in their hands as they were carefully writing their letters.
As I introduced myself and explained why I was there, they immediately started to tell me about their favorite pet, “2 cats,” shouted one student. “I have 3 cats and 3 dogs,” yelled another one.
“We have a lot of animal lovers,” giggled their teacher whom they call Ms. Mac.
I contacted MacReynolds after we saw a post on social media about her and her class helping to foster a kitten that was born blind. What we found was remarkable.
As the kids were working on their writing assignment, not far away on a small kid-sized chair slept a kitten.
“Stevie” as they called him, spends his days in their classroom and his nights at home with Ms. Mac.
Ms. Mac is not just a teacher; she is the founder of Ana’s Angels. She has been rescuing special needs animals from rural shelters, which often have limited resources, for 25 years.
She has been bringing them into her classroom for the last two decades.
“They feed them every morning, they take them out to walk him,” she explained about the various dogs and cats she’s brought to class for her students to help her foster. “For a 5-year-old to learn that, and be responsible for something other than yourself, that’s a great lesson. The kids know that if we are to have an animal in the classroom, they can’t be picking him up and play with him all the time because their classwork is the priority.”
They are also learning about compassion.
All the animals that visit her classroom, until she finds them a permanent home, are special needs. The animals would be euthanized if not for her.
Stevie, named after the pilot who volunteered to fly him from a small rural shelter in Georgia to Jacksonville, requires surgery to prevent his eyes from getting infected.
He is too young for the surgery and is being fostered by the class until he’s a little older.
Ms. Mac found another kitten of similar age, but with no disability, to also foster so “Stevie” could learn how to find his bowl and eat.
During the last several years, her students have helped take care of “Green Bean,” a cat who was born without knees or paws; Chester, who was hit by a car and had to have his leg amputated; and Tilly, who had to have her eye removed.
Ana has helped find a home for 10,000 animals.
Mandarin Oaks Elementary principal Leigh Butterfield said there is a waiting list to get into Ms. Mac’s classroom, but even if students aren’t in the class, they can engage with the animals in other ways and fostering animals is one of many ways the school supports students and the community.
“This kitten is more than a class pet - it’s an example of our youngest students learning to lead with empathy,” she explained. “At MOE (Mandarin Oaks Elementary), that same spirit carries through the grade levels in powerful ways - whether the students are buddying up with an ESE class of students with special needs, collecting donations for social workers who work with children in transition to foster care, collecting donations for the Mandarin Food Bank or our Anchored 4 Life program that allows students to guide their peers through life’s challenges- MOE is truly all about leading with compassion and serving the community.”
By the way, when Ms. Mac could not find a permanent family for a puppy, she rescued Butterfield and adopted him. Jackson is now part of the family.
If you would like to help Ana’s Angels, which is a 501C nonprofit organization, she always needs volunteers, especially foster families and help transporting the animals.
She also needs supplies, including:
- New and used towels
- Blankets
- Cleaning supplies
- Pet food
- Scoopable litter
- New and used leashes
- Gift cards
You can contact Ana MacReynolds through her Facebook page.