PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Paint, signs and even streamers: The teachers at John Tyler Elementary School in Portsmouth went all out to show the love they have for their students.
They called it their “Caravan of Love.”
“There’s a connection between the students and us. There’s a real love. They lift me up on days when I’m down, so right now I’m trying to lift them up and their families at home as they go through this,” said teacher Clyde Parker.
An instructional reading coach at the elementary school, Heather Neal says the teachers planned this to let the students know they’re in this together and that they are missed.
“We miss our kids so badly. We wish we could love on them, hug them, but we can’t so this is our way of showing them how much we are thinking about them from afar,” smiled Neal.
If you were anywhere near High Street Friday morning, you could hear the line of teachers honking their horns and see them waving at their students.
They got word of the parade out to their students through social media and their school’s online portal.
Fourth-grade student Nathan Brown says he misses school and his teacher, but seeing her today helped.
10 On Your Side asked how it made him feel to be able to see her.
“Happy… because she’s the best and I love my teacher,” Brown said.
Parents also got in on the waving action, saying they were thankful the teachers took time out of their day to make their children feel special.
“To show the kids they still care about them, they miss them, to keep studying, keep reading — they didn’t forget about them,” said parent Shanty Brown.
These educators might have slowed traffic Friday, but it was for all the right reasons.
“I got to see them again,” shouted student Dazaya Allen after the teachers rode past her home.
The teachers are still doing lesson plans online as well.
