Teachers and students at Herbert Slater Middle School in Santa Rosa, California are used to seeing 7^th grader Raquel Zuniga holding a stuffed Kermit the Frog doll as she goes about her school day.

Raquel, aged 12, attends classes for students with mild to serious disabilities. Having her favorite frog doll Kermit by her side makes school life much easier for her, yet there are still times when Kermit’s cheery presence isn’t enough to help her through her anxiety.

One day Raquel was having a hard time changing halfway from inside the classroom to outside. Several teachers approached Raquel as she held Kermit tight and walked back and forth in the hallway, yet none could get through to the child. After nearly an hour, school resource officer Chris Morrison happened to wander by to see if she could help.

Chris herself was a teacher for high-risk students in Los Angeles for twelve years before joining the Santa Rosa Police. She’s now been on the job as a cop for eighteen years, but those teaching wisdoms still run deeply through her mind.

Without hesitation Chris approached the student and bean to speak to her in a comforting voice. Chris did something simple yet extraordinary: she began to sing. Not only does music have a calming effect on its own but also the song she selected was especially meaningful: “Rainbow Connection”, the 1997 song made famous by Kermit the Frog himself.

Raquel’s face lights up in a beautiful smile as she turns to her teacher as if to say, “She’s singing my song!”

“The three of us were standing there in awe,” said Assistant Principal Jessica Romero, adding that she wasn’t the least bit surprised that this kind act came from Officer Morrison. “She’s a very special soul,” Jessica explained. “She comes to everything she does with heart, with empathy, and is able to build close relationship with students.”

I am here with students at Wakefield High School in Virginia. And we’ve got students listening from all across America, from kindergarten to 12th grade. I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it’s your first day in a new school, so it’s understandable if you’re a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now — with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade you’re in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer and you could stay in bed.

I know that feeling. When I was young, my mother didn’t have the money to send me where most American kids went to study, but she thought it was important for me to keep up with an American education. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself. But because she had to go to work, the only time she could do it was at 4:30 in the morning. Now, as you might imagine, I wasn’t too happy about getting up that early. But whenever I complained, my mother would just give me one of those looks and she’d say, “This is no picnic for me either.” So I know that some of you are still adjusting to being back at school.

But I’m here because I want to talk with you about your education and what’s expected of all of you in this new school year. Now, I’ve given a lot of speeches about education. And I’ve talked about responsibility a lot. I’ve talked about teachers’ responsibility for encouraging students and pushing you to learn. I’ve talked about your parents’ responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and you get your homework done. I’ve talked a lot about your government’s responsibility for setting high standards, and supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren’t working, where students aren’t getting the opportunities that they deserve.

But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, the best schools in the world — and none of it will make a difference, none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill (履行) your responsibilities, unless you show up to those schools, unless you pay attention to those teachers, unless you listen to your parents and put in the hard work it takes to succeed. That’s what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself. Every single one of you has something that you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide.

Maybe you could be a great writer but you might not know it until you write that English paper. Maybe you could be an inventor but you might not know it until you do your project for your science class. And no matter what you want to do with your life, I guarantee that you’ll need an education to do it. And this isn’t just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. The future of America depends on you. What you’re learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future. That’s why today I’m calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education and do everything you can to meet them.

Amy Maplethorpe, a first-year speech-language teacher at Raymond Ellis Primary School, used tennis balls, a hot glue gun, Mod Podge and a bit of paint to create two chairs that help students with sensory (感官的) problems.

According to the school’s Facebook page, which became very popular, the chairs provide a “different texture (质地) to improve sensory regulation (调控).”

Maplethorpe told ABC News that the chairs will service about 15 to 20 students. Children with sensory problems often have a hard time “dealing with sensory information”. Things, such as coats, blankets and Maplethorpe’s chairs, often comfort a student.

Maplethorpe was excited to create the chair after seeing something similar on a website, and she made some changes to the idea.

“I wanted to continue to help students with sensory problems at Ellis and provide a different kind of seat for the students,” she continued. “I was excited that this chair could help my students.’’

The two chairs are now in the school’s sensory room, which was created recently, according to headmaster, Beth Kiewicz.

“When a child’s sensory needs are met, we then can move on to their needs in study,” Kiewicz, who has led the school for six years, told ABC News.

Maplethorpe said the chairs have already made a difference for some of her students.

“Students have become more patient, and have followed directions, while waiting for activities,” she said.