Teachers, students reunite via parade

CROMWELL – If they can’t go to school, school can come to them, even if for only a moment.

Separated one from another by emergency actions amid the coronavirus pandemic, Cromwell teachers organized “a mobile pep rally” to reach out to their students, to let them know they are not forgotten and how much they are missed.

The Friday afternoon event was organized by kindergarten teacher Amy Carta, band director Raymond J. Sinclair and preschool teacher Karen Ambler.

“Karen, Amy and I were thrilled to put together this parade for our students,” Sinclair said in an email. “After witnessing a similar teacher parade taking place, I thought the students in Cromwell would love to see their teachers.”

Once word got out about the idea, the town’s emergency services stepped up and provided support, including having fire apparatus, an ambulance and police cruisers join the parade.

“It was a team effort, with the involvement of Mayor (Enzo) Faienza and the police and fire departments,”

Ambler said.

Above all, the teachers embraced the idea.

“We were 197 cars strong,” Ambler said.

It rained during a portion of the parade, but “the rain didn’t dampen the Cromwell pride!” Ambler said. “Families watched tail gating from cars, under pop-up canopies and holding umbrellas lining the street.”

“It was a thrill to see so many staff come out to celebrate and recognize the students and all of their efforts with virtual learning,” Ambler said. “We have missed the students so much, so this was a great way to reconnect and hopefully encourage them.”

More than just a chance for teachers to say hello to their students, it also gave students – and their families – a way of saying “thank you” to the teachers who are so important in their young lives, and to say in turn how much the teacher, too, are missed.

It wasn’t just students and their parents who got caught up in the event, Ambler said.

“There were townspeople watching who no longer even have children in the district,” she said.

To accommodate people who wanted to see the parade but who did not live along the route, both St. John Church and Hilltop

Congregational Church, among others, opened their parking lots.

The teachers decorated their vehicles with signs and balloons.

Students in turn created their own signs, “some personalized to their own teachers, and others held endearing sentiments to all teachers,” Ambler said. “Some of the signs were hilarious, such as ‘Save Me!’ ‘Send Help!’ and ‘I Want My Teacher Back,” she said.

“It was such a special day in Cromwell,” Ambler said. “The whole community came out to show their support and that meant so much to all us.”

Pam Grande, the school nurse at the Edna C. Stevens elementary school, will be retiring at the end of the school year, capping a 25year career. She told Ambler, “I have been involved in many events over the past 25 years, but Friday was by far the best. It will stay in my heart forever.”

Ambler shared that emotion.

“We did this for the students and families, and yet we got so much in return. It felt like one long hug that we all needed!” she said.

jmill@middletownpress.com

Contributed photo Cromwell teachers organized “a mobile pep rally” to reach out to their students, to let them know they are not forgotten and how much they are missed.