Can you imagine a 7-year-old keeping a secret? 

It was really hard for 18 second graders to manage to keep a secret, but they did it because they wanted to make their classmate, Rowan Alford, happy.

Can you imagine a 7-year-old keeping a secret? 

It was really hard for 18 second graders to manage to keep a secret, but they did it because they wanted to make their classmate, Rowan Alford, happy.

And so, in the late afternoon of Friday, Nov. 6, a Homewood fire engine with flashing lights and siren, led a parade of 18 cars that went past Rowan’s house in Homewood. The special welcome home parade was a surprise to the little boy who waved from his front lawn as classmates yelled messages to him.

Teacher Patti DeBoer said she knew Rowan was coming home from Lurie Children’s Hospital where doctors treated him for acute myeloid leukemia. She knows how concerned the other students in her class are about Rowan. When he told them the news that he was coming home, they immediately started organizing ways to let Rowan know how excited they were. They wanted to make posters and cards and gifts.

It was at that point that DeBoer decided to organize a parade – with 24 hours notice. 

“With the classroom dynamics that I have, they look out for each other, they care about each other. What made me want to do this was when Rowan told the class that he was coming home, the absolute excitement from the class was just so overwhelming for me, as a parent, just to see how genuinely excited they all were,” DeBoer said.

With e-learning classes, DeBoer had their computer feeds on mute “but you knew they were screaming. They were jumping up and down. It was just a huge celebration,” the teacher said.

DeBoer was so touched by the little community she’d built in her classroom. Rowan’s mom wrote a letter that went to every child’s parent so they would understand the children’s concern for their classmate.

“Just to see the compassion they had for Rowan,” and when he’s not online they ask her what’s happening and whether he’s OK, she said.

Rowan was first diagnosed with the disease at 18 months and underwent treatment for more than three years. 

He was doing well, and when his family relocated from Kansas City to Homewood, Rowan was enrolled as a first grader at Willow School.  

Then in March, COVID-19 hit. And unfortunately, so did Rowan’s leukemia. His parents, Jody and Lindsey Alford, agreed to the recommendation for a stem cell transplant to reboot Rowan’s immune system. It meant months in the hospital. His leukemia is in remission, but he is still under a doctor’s care.

Jody Alford said the one plus about COVID-19 is everything the school’s done to accommodate Rowan. His teacher agrees. Without Zoom, Rowan would have a private tutor, she said. He’d never be connected to 18 friends – all learning together via the internet.

The parade, she said, “was for Rowan, but it was also for the entire class. The wonderful school district we have, and in this hard time we’re there to support one another. I think it was just such a humbling, amazing day. That just brought our class closer together. You just can’t get that experience.  They’re amazing children and amazing parents.”