The Burnette family’s ties to Northwest Spokane run long and deep. Second grade teacher Kamilah Burnette has taught at Woodridge Elementary for 10 years, and it’s the same school her children Nathan (8th grade) and Maya (11th grade) attended before advancing to their neighborhood secondary schools, Salk Middle School and Shadle Park High School.
The communities at these three schools have provided one support system for the Burnette family following Maya’s diagnosis of leukemia in the fall.
Since November, Woodridge staff like Wendi Putzke and Christina Hogue have organized to complete house projects and surprise the Burnettes with presents on special holidays.
Nathan’s Salk Spartan football team took care of yard work at the Burnette’s house, so Kamilah and her husband Chris could focus their energy on Maya’s treatment at the hospital.
Maya’s volleyball teammates and other Shadle Park friends spent months creating a chain of one thousand origami cranes, symbolizing good luck and recovery for cancer patients.
These activities were organized by students, staff, and other school families on their own time and outside of school hours, because of connections made in classrooms and school hallways, in staff breakrooms, and on sport courts and fields. Our schools are community gathering places where we celebrate good times and uplift one another during challenges.
“I'm going to be finishing up my last round of chemo in April, and I just truly can't thank you guys enough for everything that you guys have done for me,” Maya shared in a video message.
We are inspired by Maya’s perseverance and the unwavering support from the Woodridge Titans, Salk Spartans and Shadle Park Highlanders for the Burnette family.