If she were to walk during Central's graduation ceremony this weekend, she’d do so with the help of her brother, Martin, leaning on his arm as the two of them made their way across the stage. They’re very close, Polanco said of her children.

Meredith’s illness has taken her away from her classmates, away from school activities she used to enjoy, such as choir and orchestra, and has robbed her of normal teenage experiences like going to the movies or having sleepovers with her friends.

Before the brain cancer, Meredith said, she wanted to be a pastry chef.

“But I can’t do it,” she said with a smile, “because my left hand doesn’t work as fast as my right hand does anymore, so it’s kind of hard to bake anything or cut anything up, or do anything.”

The letter to Principal Talley from Meredith’s social worker is just one of several messages sent in support of allowing her to participate in graduation.

Bethany Wojahn, a friend of Meredith’s family, also wrote to Talley. In her email, she recalled how her own son was not allowed to graduate “because of his poor choices.”

Wojahn applauded Talley’s decision regarding her son but argued that what happened to Meredith is different.