NEW ROCHELLE, NY — City School District of New Rochelle teachers drove in a parade of cars to students’ homes to cheer, clap and hold up signs of greeting as a way of lifting spirits during the Coronavirus COVID-19 crisis.
The first parade kicked off at 10 a.m. in at Christopher Columbus Elementary School, led by Principal Michael Galland who recently tested positive for the virus. The parade wound its way through the West End of New Rochelle. Teachers and staff honked their horns as students, families and neighbors held up signs and waved back.
A similar scene played out an hour later, as a second parade stepped off from Barnard Early Childhood Center at 11 a.m. The parade include teachers from several schools and made its way to the far North end of New Rochelle before looping South, arriving at Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital and then on to Downtown New Rochelle.
“Kids are saying they’re missing the teachers, the teachers miss the students,” said Renee Bartee, a pre-kindergarten teacher at Henry Barnard Early Childhood Center. She organized one of the parades with Debbie Roasario, a Barnard reading teacher. “We thought we would show them that we’re thinking about them and let them know we love them,” Bartee said.
Families stood along the route waving, cheering back and holding their own signs. One near Columbus read “We love + miss our teachers. Thank you!!”
“This connection between students and teachers amidst the Coronavirus Crisis is what sets our teachers apart,” said Dr. Laura Feijoo. “This parade clearly highlights the school-to-home partnership, which teachers have fostered over years.”
The teachers stayed in their cars to avoid spreading COVID-19, the Coronavirus causing a worldwide crisis. But their social distance did not dim the cheers or lessen the joy felt by students such as Columbus Elementary School first grader Sebastian De Leon, who waved excitedly as the honking caravan passed.
“He was so happy, and the parade literally brought me to tears,” said his mother, Rosa De Leon. “It really brightened my son’s day! Thank you, New Rochelle School District. This really shows what an amazing community we are.”
For several days, teachers announced the parade plan on Facebook, and took requests from parents who contacted them to add their streets to the routes.
“This is a perfect example of the incredible love and devotion our educators show for our 11,000 students,” Dr. Feijóo said. “These are difficult times for us all, and the length the teachers have gone to in order to raise spirits, build the community and find reasons to smile is an inspiration to the entire city.”
Board of Education President Amy Moselhi added; “The Board of Education is so moved that during ‘Teacher Appreciation Week,’ a time set aside of our appreciation of these great educational leaders, they would in turn give us, the community, such a special day.”
The first parade, with about 40 cars, covered the Columbus neighborhood.
“It’s really wonderful the way they are staying connected to the students,” said Jennifer DiFatta, mother of Savanna, a seventh grader at Albert Leonard Middle School, and A.J., a fourth grader at Daniel Webster Magnet School. “It’s a real heartfelt sense of community.”
“There’s nothing like a good parade,” DiFatta said.
The second, leaving from Barnard, included about 45 vehicles, with teachers and others from all over the District. It covered the city from end to end and also stopped at Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital in tribute to the healthcare workers on the front lines of the response to the pandemic.
“This is really cool,” said sixth grader Eden Knight, watching the procession from her front yard near Barnard. “We’re making history right now and it’s really cool to see all my teachers coming out and being proud of us.”
The parades were held to show again what communities can do with heart and imagination.
Aisha Cook, a fourth-grade teacher at Columbus who co-organized the parade from that school with special education teaching assistant Fran Delfico, said it came together beautifully.
“This was better than any of us could have imagined,” she said.