Teen gets forever family after asking his former teacher to adopt him

BEAUMONT, Texas -- Tens of thousands of children age out of foster care without finding their forever home, but one young man is proving that it's never too late for family.

Anthony Berry, 16, is now with his forever family after he asked his former teacher, Bennie Berry to adopt him.

Anthony, who had been in foster care since the age of 9, had never wanted to be adopted. That is until he met Ms. Berry.

Anthony first met Berry last November when she was his English teacher at Pathways Learning Center in Beaumont. By January, Anthony asked her to adopt him.

Berry says she was surprised to learn he wanted her to adopt him.

"Well at first I thought he was making jokes until he actually explained the situation.

Anthony asked his now mom to adopt him by asking her to look at a website. Berry told him to finish his work first.

"We struck a deal, finish an assignment and then you can show me the website," Berry said.

That was probably the fastest assignment he had ever completed.

"I have a son. I'm more than elated," she told ABC News. "I have a son for the rest of my life."

Anthony was the oldest child to be adopted in Jefferson County on Friday. He was one of 18 kids adopted. Even though he is one of the older ones finding his forever family, he thinks it's never too late to start looking.

"If you have ever thought about adoption or didn't want to be adopted, actually try it because you never know. Take into consideration that...there is always someone that will love you," Anthony said.

ABC News contributed to this report.