Leticia’s Class Learns Geography by Heart

Marty Roane’s second-grade students at Palmquist Elementary School had an unusual lesson Thursday about the geography of the southeastern United States.

The location of Florida--so far away from these youngsters--was of intense interest. Panama City, Fla., was where their missing classmate, Leticia Hernandez, last was sighted on Feb. 2.

Although Leticia hasn’t been with her classmates since she disappeared from in front of her apartment Dec. 16, she has been a daily presence among her fellow second-graders. Thursday was the geography lesson; the day before was Valentine’s Day, with cards of love stuffed into a construction-paper heart on Leticia’s vacant desk.

It was a project that they chose to do on their own. Roane said they came up to her all day to show her their work:

“They kept saying, ‘Here, Miss Roane, this is for Leticia.’ ‘Look, Miss Roane, I made this for Leticia.’ ”

But even those simple acts were touched by the reality of the child’s abduction. It was only during their project that they noticed that Leticia’s school books were missing. The FBI had taken them to get her fingerprints.

Then Roane had to explain the importance of being fingerprinted.

Roane said she does not bring up Leticia. It is the children who have her name on their lips and in their thoughts.

They made a painting and pinned it on the bottom half of the classroom wall. It too was filled with hearts. Above the flowers, trees and rainbow were the words, “Leticia, We Know You’re Special.”

Roane pulled out a poster that one little girl was drawing. The poster had questions that she had to fill in. One of the questions asked for three wishes. Wish No. 2 was for a Barbie doll, wish No. 3 was for a sister. But wish No. 1 was for Leticia to come home.

Roane wishes too.

“I pray for her each night,” she said.

As the children busied themselves with valentines for Leticia on Wednesday, FBI agents were confirming that a gas station attendant in Panama City had indeed seen the kidnaped girl with the two people who have been identified as her abductors.

So, on Thursday, the children received their sad geography lesson--that Leticia last had been seen at a spot very far away from Oceanside.

Their biggest question, Roane said, was: “If people keeping spotting her, why don’t they just bring her home?”

It is a question that Roane cannot answer.