February 29th

The zebra was chosen to represent rare disease based on a quote from Dr. Theodore Woodward: “When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras.” and “When you hear hoofbeats behind you, don’t expect to see a zebra.” Dr. Woodward used this metaphor to teach the diagnosis of diseases.

To help our community celebrate Rare Disease Day, we are inviting Meadowlark families, students and staff to wear stripes on Thursday, February 29th, in celebration of Rare Disease Day.

Please share your Rare and show off your stripes to the photo Link

To help our community celebrate Rare Disease Day, we are inviting Meadowlark families who are affected by rare diseases to submit a video.

Videos must be submitted to diversity@mavsptsa.org – by February 23th

• Here are some guiding questions to help you get started:
• What is your rare disease?
• Something you do because of your rare disease.
• What extra steps do you take to manage your rare disease?
• What is it like having a rare disease?
• Something you want people to know about your rare disease.

Follow Up for “Share Your Rare” Campaign

As part of the “Share Your Rare” campaign, Meadowlark was honored to host Melissa Wiley. Melissa is not only a writer and keynote speaker but also a nationally recognized leader in local government, serving as the Deputy Town Manager for Erie. Remarkably, she stands as the only woman with a facial disfigurement to hold an executive level leadership position in local government across the United States. Her presentation perfectly complemented our anti-bullying curriculum, focusing on the transformative power of storytelling to redefine concepts of beauty and disability for children. 

We cannot thank Melissa enough for speaking to our children and we hope to partner with her again in the future.