July 15, 2026 — At Belmont Hills Elementary, you'll often hear teachers, families, and students refer to their school as having a family-like feel. That culture of caring extends beyond the classroom.

Kristen Thalacker, a 5th-grade teacher at the school, took special notice of one of her students who was battling a unique set of circumstances. Michael Alexandre, the son of fellow Belmont Hills teacher Nerlie Alexandre, was a child she had known for years and was facing kidney disease. 

As the hospital visits, dialysis, and progression of the disease continued, it became clear that Michael would need a kidney transplant.

Michael spent months on the transplant waiting list, hoping for a matching donor. Despite pleas on social media and inquiries to family and friends, no viable donor met the complex requirements for a transplant.

By then, Michael had moved on to Tapp Middle School, but Mrs. Thalacker hadn't forgotten her former student. 

She saw that Michael's blood type was O+ and immediately reached out to Michael's mom, offering to donate herself.

"I was like, all right, well, that's me. I can give it a shot, let's see," said Thalacker.

The message received in June of 2025 brought this mother and educator to tears. 

"The fact that she was willing to go under the knife to take that kidney out, to take the risk with her life, that was just somebody who just decided that I can give my life for you," said Alexandre. 

After going through the process herself, the dedicated educator was found not to be a perfect match for the transplant. However, Michael's family eventually would get the phone call from doctors that a donor had been found. Michael has since undergone a successful transplant and is eager to return to the classroom this August with more energy and better health than ever before. 

Michael said even the offer alone from his former teacher gave him the hope he needed that he would one day get this meaningful donation. 

As for why Mrs. Thalacker was willing to donate a kidney to a former student, she said it was all about wanting to make sure Michael had the future he deserved.

"For any kid really, they deserve the chance to grow up and become whatever they want to become, and accomplish whatever they want to accomplish, and try life and have mistakes and joys and sorrows and all of that. The idea that would be shorter for him was not something that I was okay with. If there was something I could do to help in any way, I was like, let's give him a chance because he's a great kid," said the Belmont Hills teacher.

Michael is spending his summer resting, drawing, playing soccer, and spending time with his family. 

"It makes me feel proud of myself. For me, a good student and her being a good teacher, and then it just truly shows the relationship between a good student and a good teacher," said Michael. 

Relationships like these—and the compassion they inspire—are part of what makes Belmont Hills Elementary feel like family.

Thalacker has remained in close contact with Michael and his mother, regularly checking in as he continues recovering from surgery.

"It's just further proof that we are a family. You know, we may not be related by blood, but we are family," said Alexandre.