Teachers on parade
Convoy greeted by Reese Elementary students
Students and parents lined the streets in the Reese Elementary neighborhood Friday morning as a parade of about 20 cars filled with teachers drove down the streets honking and waving.
“We love you and we miss you!” students hollered at teachers as they drove by, a safe distance away. Many of the students were holding signs saying how much they missed their teachers. One student had decorated his with colorful balloons.
It was a welcome break for students cooped up at home and missing school during the coronavirus pandemic. The students were scheduled to return from their two-week break last Monday, but schools have been ordered closed in an effort to protect the public and slow the spread of the virus. Lodi Unified schools are currently slated to remain closed through April 17, but it’s likely the date will be pushed back. In the meantime, the district plans to have remote learning activities and resources available to students next week.
After a week of at-home learning on the fly, Friday brought a welcome change for both parents and students.
“It was a great change of pace,” mom Jennifer Verdon said after watching the parade. “It was exciting and it brought back some of their normalcy,” she said about her children that attended the parade.
Kirby Bianchi said she was nearly brought to tears as she and her children stood at the corner of Elm and Mills and watched the teachers drive by.
“I have been looking forward to this since they sent out the emails. It brought such joy out of such sadness,” Bianchi said. “I’ll never take for granted dropping my kids off at school again. I love our school so much for putting this together.”
Sixth-grade teacher Melanie Martinez said the Reese Elementary staff was inspired after seeing Lincoln Unified put together a parade earlier in the week. “A couple of us started texting, and we wanted to tell our students that we miss them,” she said.
Mom Sara Sauseda said her kids can’t wait to go back to school and see their friends and be with their teachers.
“I just hope that it’s over quickly, that everyone abides by the mandates to shelter in place, so we can go back to school quickly,” Sauseda said. “They just want to go back to school.”
Colin Verdon, 7, walked back to Reese with his mom and brother after the parade had passed. They were going to put their sign at the school for the teachers to see as they returned. “It was fun!’ Verdon said.
Mom Annette Garcia said the pandemic is unlike anything most Americans have ever experienced and that she, like many others, is in shock. She said the parade gave the community something to look forward to during a difficult time, noting that her family got excited about decorating posters.
“This means a lot to me, our teachers coming out here doing this,” Garcia said. “Our kids are just so blessed to be part of a community and a school that are doing this, coming out and showing that we love you, we care, we are here for you. It meant the world.”