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Elkhorn family, teacher have 'Faith'

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Amy Chapman

JANESVILLE — Life-saving magic happens in classrooms everyday.

Sometimes it takes the form of learning to read. Other times, lives are literally saved.

Tonight, two of those lives will be celebrated in The 11th annual “A Home for the Holidays with Faith Hill.” The show runs from 7 to 8 p.m. on CBS.

The show is a celebration of adoption successes—especially the adoption of older children.

Tonight’s show will feature sisters Minuette and Josette, two foster children who were adopted by Dan and Angela Farmakis of Elkhorn.

It also will feature Amy Chapman, the fifth grade teacher whose actions changed all their lives.

In 2002, Chapman, then Amy Heffelfinger, was a fifth-grade teacher at Madison Elementary School in Janesville. Minuette was in her class.

“Yes, I remember her,” Chapman said in a phone interview from McHenry, Ill., where she teaches fifth grade at Riverwood Elementary School.

Chapman is modest about her involvement with Minuette. She saw the signs of abuse and neglect and stepped in, like all teachers do, she said.

Dan Farmakis said his adopted daughter remembers it differently—as an act of heroism.

“(Chapman) pulled her aside one day and asked her if everything was all right,” Farmakis said. “(Minuette) just burst out crying, and it all came out.”

Social services stepped in, and both girls were placed with separate foster families.

After a series of foster placements, Minuette ended up with the Farmakis family. The family was willing to fight the system to get Josette placed with them, too.

In 2007, after much struggle, the Farmakis family officially adopted the two girls.

This year, Minuette is attending UW-Whitewater and majoring in elementary education.

“At one point she said to me, ‘Dad, when I was younger, I never thought I would live to see 18 years old,’” Farmakis said.

Minuette never forgot her teacher. She told her adopted mom, “I wish I could find her, to let her know I’m OK.”

“We tried to find her several times, but it was like she kind of disappeared,” Farmakis said.

Then, when the producers from “A Home for the Holidays” called and learned about Chapman, they started searching, too.

Chapman was reluctant to be interviewed on television, but reminded herself, “OK, OK, this is not about me.”

In the end, the producers brought her out to California. After interviewing Minuette, they brought in Chapman as a surprise.

Minuette wept.

Since that time, the two have talked several times, and Minuette hopes to volunteer in Chapman’s classroom in the spring.

“You just never know when you’re going to make a difference,” Chapman said. “Unfortunately, there are a lot of students in similar situations every year.”