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Men of all ages—some fathers, grandfathers and community members—lined the sidewalks around Hatfield and Burris elementary schools in Mitchell, Indiana earlier this month to greet youngsters on their first day back to class.
It was part of a new initiative organized by parent and community member, Toya Lamm, who is a member of the Burris Elementary school improvement committee. Oftentimes, Lamm said, students are more likely to see women in their schools because a majority of the teachers on that level are females, and many of the parent volunteers are mothers and grandmothers.
“A lot of dads work during the day, which doesn’t give them a great deal of time to spend inside their child’s school,” Lamm said. “We know they care about their child’s education and want to be there, so this gave them the opportunity to do that.”
The idea came about through the school improvement committee, which deduced that students need to see more positive male role models involved in their schools.
“Dads, grandpas…they want to see their students and schools succeed, and we know this,” Lamm said. “This was a simple idea that only took 30 minutes and cost nothing…we hope it sparks the idea that it’s important for our community to be involved in the school. You didn’t need to be a dad or a grandfather of a student to come today, you just had to care about our young people and be willing to share a word of kindness. It only takes one kind word to change a child’s day. I hope we were able to do that on their first day of school.”
The outpouring of support, which came from about four dozen men, helped ease those first-day jitters students typically pack with them when school starts for the year, said Jessica Jones, principal of Burris Elementary School.
“Our positive outreach project was a big success,” Jones said. “Students had enormous smiles, and you could tell first-day nerves were relieved when they saw a huge welcoming committee of men and women ready to give high-fives and wish them a great first day. Some of the adult participants said they would do this every day, so they enjoyed it as a great start to their day, too.”
“Student success is not only dependent upon our schools, teachers, and families, but on our community’s commitment to communicating the importance of learning and growing to students. The message—the importance of education and that the school is an exciting place to be—was definitely communicated to our students.”
Larry Moffatt, a Mitchell High School graduate whose children, now grown, went through Mitchell Community Schools, said the outreach brought back many good memories. For him, it was an honor to give back for 30 minutes on a Friday morning.
“Greeting children on the first day of school is a simple but brilliant idea,” Moffatt said. “I’m so glad I was invited to participate. The kids and adults alike seemed to enjoy it. I hope we brightened the day for both teachers and students, and maybe we planted the seed that school is cool.”
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This post was originally published on tmnews.com, and is republished here with the author’s permission.
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