Teacher Adopts Former Student’s Son After Receiving Plea for Help, Says ‘He Completed Our Family’ (Exclusive)

Kaci Spampinato has helped hundreds of students during her two decades of teaching, but in 2009, there was one student in particular who left an impact on her. The teen, however, was living with a foster family and moved away near the end of their sophomore school year.

Spampinato, 49, didn’t know it at the time, but they would later be reconnected and change each other’s lives forever.

The Texas resident tells PEOPLE she lost track of the student until five years later, when another teacher reached out with a plea.

“In 2014, another teacher who had kept in contact with her messaged me on Facebook and said, ‘Hey, she’s had a little boy. Do you have anything that you would like to share or could donate to her?'” she recalls. “I said, ‘Let me see what I have.’ ”

Spampinato then reached out to the mother directly, saying, “I don’t know if you remember me, it’s been a few years, but I’d love to come and see you. I’d love to bring you some things.” 

The former student said she “absolutely remembered” Spampinato, and the two reminisced about old stories and conversations.

After gathering up some baby supplies, Spampinato brought her sons along to meet the young mother, the biological father, and the baby. They spent the afternoon together, and toward the end of the visit, Spampinato gave the new parents her number, saying, “If you ever need anything, let me know.”

Just a few days later, her former student reached out, explaining that there were “some unsafe things going on” in their apartment complex, asking if she could stay at Spampinato’s home for a little while with her baby.

“We packed her up, and we moved her out to our house. We spent a lot of time together, and she was with us for about two weeks,” Spampinato recalls.

“During that period of time, we were swimming outside, and she said, ‘Do you think you and Mike would adopt him?’ I said, ‘What?'” she says.

Little did the former student know, Spampinato had recently suffered a miscarriage. For Spampinato, the moment felt like a sign.

“We’re believers, and I had always said, ‘You know what, if God wants me to have a baby, he’s gonna drop one in my lap.’ And he did.”

However, she told her former student that she needed to talk to the baby’s biological father first, and “at that time, he said, ‘Absolutely not. You, the baby, need to come home.’ ”

Still, Spampinato and her husband, Mike, told the young mother that they were there for them, noting that if they ever needed a babysitter or food, they would be happy to help.

They didn’t hear from the couple for several weeks, and Spampinato worried she might have overstepped. Then, weeks later, she got a call.

“She said, ‘Do you still want him?’ And I said, ‘What’s going on?'” Spampinato recalls. “She said, ‘CPS is here. You either come get him, or they’re gonna take him and put him in the system.’ ”

Without hesitation, Spampinato called her mom and her husband, and they met at her former student’s complex. The new mom told the caseworker that she knew someone who could take her child.

“We packed everything up, and we loaded him in the car, and CPS was still involved because we were considered kin. We had to do home study and visitations,” she shares.

Wanting to ensure that the child never ended up in the foster system, the Spampinatos met with an attorney and were able to get a judge to sign over the parental rights to the family. Their son, Kash, had his adoption solidified on Feb. 25, 2015.

Spampinato still checks in with Kash’s biological mother when she can. She tells PEOPLE that her former student occasionally “likes” photos of the now-11-year-old, commenting that she can’t believe how big he’s getting.

Looking back, Spampinato still remembers the feeling of holding baby Kash in her arms for the first time.

“The minute I held him, I knew something was different. There was no expectation whatsoever to adopt him at that time because that wasn’t even a thought in my mind,” she says. “My thought was, ‘Let’s just see what she needs and let’s help her.’ ”

“When I put him up here, [on my shoulder], I cannot explain it. There was something different,” she continues. “I just kind of knew. Then, when she said something to us, I thought, ‘Okay, maybe this is my answered prayer.’ I don’t know.”

Spampinato says “it was so easy” bringing Kash into the family. While her eldest son, Kade, is 21, her son Krew is only three years older than Kash. Spampinato says her two brothers also have children around the same age.

“We all live within a 10 to 15 minute radius of one another. My parents were super involved. I have an adopted brother, so adoption has always been very special to my parents and to me,” she shares. “My parents were all in. They’re like, ‘Whatever you need, financially, whatever it is, we’re gonna do to make sure that he’s with you guys, or he’s where he needs to be.’ So it just was so natural and organic that you can’t help but think that he was placed perfectly with us.”

As Kash has gotten older, he has had a few questions about his biological parents. Several years ago, as they were driving past a hospital, Kash said, “Mommy, remember when I was in your belly, and you had me at that hospital?” 

“I said, ‘Bub, you were never in my belly. Remember? We talked about this. But do you wanna see a picture of whose belly you were in?'” she recalls. “I pulled up her picture, and I took a picture of him looking at it. It’s so beautiful. He looked at her, and he said, ‘I wub her.’ And I said, ‘I wub her too.’ I do.” 

While there have been some harder conversations over the years, with Kash questioning why his biological parents gave him up, Spampinato always makes sure he knows that he is loved — by them and his biological parents.

“We always just say they absolutely loved you. They loved you more than anyone could ever love you because they knew what was best for you,” she shares. “They knew that if you were with us, you’d be able to fish all the time, and you’d be able to do these things, and you’d have all these great cousins and grandparents, and they knew that that’s what they were gonna be able to provide for you by letting us take care of you.”

“We try to be honest, but also say, ‘You were handpicked. You were the one picked perfectly for us and they knew it. And so they gave the ultimate sacrifice and decided to let you go, but let you go with all the love.’ ”

Spampinato recently made a video about Kash’s adoption and posted it on TikTok, sharing that “he completed our family.” Her hope, she shares, was to “connect with other adoptive families.”

“In our church, our little community group where we meet every week, all of us have adopted children,” Spampinato shares.

“I just thought if anything, that would be a great way to connect with other adoptive parents or kids who’ve been adopted, or also show to kids who might be struggling, there is a trusted adult out there that is going to love on you and care for you.” 

As a teacher for over 27 years, Spampinato has dedicated to life to helping kids, and adoption was just another way to do so.

“My biggest thing was connection, connection, connection with these kids. At the end of the day, it brought me this beautiful child, but it also hopefully inspired. Maybe if another teacher saw it was like, what kind of impact are you gonna have on these kids? Do they know that someone is there to love them? Maybe that’s the push they needed to pursue or do better in their job or their role as a teacher or their job as a mentor or loving on someone else intentionally in any aspect.”

Every year, the family celebrates Kash’s adoption day on Feb. 25 with creamy mac and cheese, one of his favorites. He also loves to fish and hopes to be on his high school fishing team one day.

“He is exactly what we needed,” Spampinato shares. “He asks inquisitive questions. He is a deep thinker. He’s just a lover of life and we sure love him.”