had no idea the corona virus would cause so many I detours.

It almost felt as if the world had stopped turning.

Many teachers spent the first week of quarantine in disbelief.

We worried about our students non-stop.

We were navigating this new way of teaching with “elearning” and chromebooks.

Teachers worked endlessly day and night to give our students and their families the support they needed.

In the beginning we had no idea we would not return to the buildings for the 2019- 2020 school year. But we never lost sight of staying connected with our students and families.

Many heartbreaks came.

Our class of 2020’s prom was canceled.

For most of Spring, the hopes of having a 2020 graduation ceremony for them seemed bleak.

Our hearts broke for our seniors.

The class of 2020 was where I began in Lexington 4, as they were in Kindergarten in 2007.

This class was very special to me.

Teachers and parents began brainstorming opportunities to make our seniors feel hopeful and to let our students know we love them.

Then something amazing happened.

In the small but mighty towns of Gaston and Swansea, Servant leadership became a great big verb.

Families helped other families, neighbors helped neighbors, people helped people.

Kindness began to spread right before our eyes.

As teachers, we have a need to fix things. When we can’t, we always find a way to make things better.

We created ways to see our students by having motorcades follow buses as they delivered food to the children.

Following all social distancing guidelines, we honked, waved and held up signs telling the children how much we love and missed them.

We hosted a “wave parade” so they could drive through the car line areas at our schools as we waved to them.

We celebrated our seniors by collecting enough donations to purchase lawn signs of each student in their cap and gown. We placed the signs and 2 large senior group photos around Swansea and Gaston for everyone to see.

The high school hosted a “Senior Parade” and the seniors drove through the parking lot as they were cheered on by staff members.

Next: The best is yet to come