When third-grader Christopher of Valley, Alabama, scored a 100% on his reading test, his teacher decided to congratulate him in a big way. Mrs. Caffie made him a yard sign that read, “Mrs. Caffie is so proud of me!”
The student’s mom, Ashly McCarley, took to Facebook to share the sweet gesture along with some photos on her son and the teacher with the sign.
“Y’all! This is amazing!” McCarley wrote in the post. “My son’s 3rd grade teacher just surprised him with a yard sign, for making a 100 on his reading test Friday! Mrs. Caffie, you made Christopher’s day.”
Aww! Christopher looks so happy and is clearly beaming with pride. The post quickly caught on and has now racked up more than 17,000 reactions, more than 1,000 comments and over 8,200 shares. People were so impressed with this teacher’s efforts to go above and beyond to make her student feel special.
“Love it! He will always remember this day! Good for him. Thankful for teachers like this a blessing!” wrote Facebook user Gloria Justice in the comments.
“What a fabulous teacher!!!!!” agreed Mikki Bobo-Funderburk. “Great job on the 100!”
“What an encouraging and loving gesture!” wrote Tom Blair. “We need more of this in our schools, work arenas and homes.”
McCarley isn’t the only parent to express gratitude for caring teachers on social media. In 2018, Florida mom Brittany Manning took to Facebook togive a shoutout to teachers for all they do for their students, even well after the school day is over.
“When your child is struggling, their teacher is going to go home with your child’s face in their mind, wondering how they can help your child succeed tomorrow,” she wrote.
Teachers Make Sure Kids Get Fed
In early 2018, public school teachers across West Virginia demanded higher pay and better insurance. The statewide strike kept school out of session for 277,000 students in 55 counties.
But schools closing concerned teachers and staff at Beckley Elementary in West Virginia because they know that a large population of students relied on breakfast and lunch programs for food. So, they didn’t let a little thing like school being closed keep them from feeding their students.
A couple of teachers told Today.com about their efforts, recalling how the faculty gathered their funds to buy water, fruit and other snacks and made plans to hand the food out at a local grocery store.
“A lot of our students depend on school breakfast and lunch as some of their most consistent meals,” Jennifer Wood, from the West Virginia American Federation of Teachers, told Today.com. “Our teachers wouldn’t feel comfortable if their students weren’t taken care of.”
When the teachers still had pizzas left at the end of the day, they started making door-to-door deliveries to their students at home. Clearly, these are some devoted educators!
“That was the coolest part of the situation, getting to go to them,” Patrick Williams, a social worker at Beckley Elementary, told Today.com. “A couple of them were shocked at first,” he said.
Comfort Closet
In February 2018, a Reddit user published a post about the effort his wife, a kindergarten teacher, and some of her colleagues had made in order to help students in need at their school.
The teachers created a “comfort closet” to help low-income students at their school get self-care items they may need. According to the post, teachers at the school — which is pre-kindergarten through 8th grade — stock the closet with hygiene products and clothes. They purchase the items using their own money and have also received donations from parents and some local businesses.
The closet contains clothing, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, combs, feminine hygiene products, toothpaste, toothbrushes and soap. These are all items that can help students feel more comfortable at school every day — as anyone who’s lived through adolescence knows how embarrassing it can be to find yourself in need of deodorant in the middle of a school day!
Other School Employees Going Above And Beyond
In December 2017, we wrote about a custodian at a Georgia high school who had a similar idea. Carolyn Collins collects clothes, school supplies and food. She stores the items in a closet in the cafeteria and offers them to homeless and needy students.
Other schools implement “share tables” that serve a dual purpose of cutting back on food waste and feeding hungry kids.
Students are encouraged to drop off any food or drink they don’t want at the table, which other kids are then free to take throughout the day.
Whatever is left at the end of the day goes to a local food bank or charity. It sounds a bit like a little lending library — but for food!
Here’s to all the educators and school staff who work so hard to ensure their students’ happiness and success both inside and outside the classroom. We hope they all have an awesome school year ahead!
This story originally appeared on Simplemost. Checkout Simplemost for other great tips and ideas to make the most out of life.
