A Fort Worth school is going above and beyond for one of its students this Halloween.
Instead of costumes, students wore green Monday to support a classmate living with primordial dwarfism.
Green is also the color of National Dwarfism Awareness Month.
At 19 pounds and 2 feet 9 inches tall, 9-year-old Jalyn Semore is one of an estimated 100 people worldwide living with primordial dwarfism.
"This is an opportunity for all of us to be able to show her, 'Hey, we care about you and we want to support you,' and bring awareness to all individuals living with dwarfism," said TM Bigley, principal at Burton Hill Elementary School.
Bigley sent a note home with children encouraging their parents to dress the students in green to support Jalyn and National Dwarfism Awareness Month.
Jalyn's mother, Stephanie Spears, says she was moved to tears.
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"It's awesome. I mean, I can't put it into words. It was just great," she says as she saw a sea of green shirts in the student cafeteria at lunchtime.
Spears says she moved the family from Louisiana to Fort Worth this summer because she had heard Jalyn could get a better education in Texas.
What she didn't expect, she says, was the support they've received from their new school, where she says Jalyn has flourished.
"She's coming home, picking up a book, reading, spelling, writing and I'm like, that's what I want. That's what I was looking forward to," said Spears.
Spears says it's unclear whether Jalyn will grow any taller, but it is clear that size doesn't define her.
Jalyn says seeing her friends wear green for her makes her "happy."
"No one has shown support for National Dwarfism Awareness Month before and it was just awesome," said Spears.
Spears says Jalyn has a weakened immune system, but besides that, is a relatively healthy child.
Her doctors believe a genetic mutation caused the primordial dwarfism.
