Keeping a secret is tough for a kid, but the 5th graders in Ms. Hayes's class at Glenhope Elementary School in Colleyville did it to surprise their classmate, Jeron Casillas.
It started two weeks ago when the class discussion was about favorite colors.
"When it got around to Jeron, Jerson mentioned to us that he was colorblind," teacher Christina Hayes said.
That led to discussions about glasses that allow someone who is colorblind to see color the way most people do. So Jeron's classmates came up with a plan to get him a pair of glasses.
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"They wanted you to be able to see like anybody else," Hayes explained to Jaron before revealing that the class pooled their allowance money and had enough to buy him two pairs of colorblind glasses; one for indoors and another for outside.
"Woah," Jaron said as he looked through the glasses for the first time.
Jaron's mom remembers the moment she knew her son was colorblind.
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"I remember he was in a car seat in the back of the car and it really was a beautiful Texas sunrise," Lindsay Casillas said. "I heard Jaron's voice in the backseat saying, 'Mommy, look at the beautiful green sunrise!', and I looked at it and I thought, 'Oh dear!"
Jeron tried out his new indoor and outdoor glasses, trying to identify colors that now look different to him.
"It just looks so different," Jeron Casillas said. "I'm just like, is this what everybody else has been seeing the whole time?"
"We've got some new colors to learn," Lindsay Casillas said.
"It's the heart, right," Hayes said. "It's the, if you see something that you want changed in the world, you as an 11-year old or 10-year old, you can make an impact."
The class initially set a goal to buy one pair of glasses but had enough money to buy two with some leftovers. They plan to pay it forward to help someone else.
"I'm just really excited because I know that my friends are really true friends for doing this for me," Jaron Casillas said. "I can't believe this is happening!"
