March 26
It wasn’t the noisiest procession.
There were no floats, no music on the march, no horses and maybe best of all: No national politicians!
But the parade that wound its way through the streets of Montezuma on Thursday morning, March 26, may have been one of the most meaningful in years.
For sure, it was heart-felt.
It was a parade of teachers and staff members from the Montezuma Community Schools.
Kids and parents were asked to come outside and stand on their porch or in front of their houses, and wait.
Starting at 10 a.m., the teachers, many in their own vehicles, started going by.
They were greeted with love and great warmth. And that love and great warmth radiated back the other way.
The kids and their teachers have been separated for a while, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This idea, for a teacher parade, has been circulating nationally with some success, and the Montezuma teachers and staff picked up on it.
First-grade teacher LeAnn James captured it with this post on Facebook:
“This, my friends, is why I love my job and the wonderful people I work with.”
“We just spent the last hour, which is one of the best hours I’ve had in a long time, traveling the streets of Montezuma to see ‘Our Kids’ and their families.”
She included a photo: “This is the line of cars in front of me, and there were probably 8 to 10 behind me.!”
“I saw several of my awesome students that I haven’t seen in almost two weeks!”
“Please know that I miss you terribly, and I know I am safe in saying that every single person in this line of cars misses you, too!”
“I’m usually not an emotional person, but I had tears of joy in my eyes this morning!”
“Again, I love my job, my students, my coworkers, and my town!! We will get through this tough time together.”
Within 90 minutes, James had almost 90 comments about her post.
Here is a sampling, along with photos taken by Allyson Fillmore:
“And all your kids love you! Thank you so much!!”
“Thank you all so much for doing this!! Hunter really enjoyed seeing everybody! It really brightened his day! This momma may have gotten emotional, too. We do have an awesome community!”
“Teachers are more than just teachers. They become our friends!”
“I had tears in my eyes just watching it.”
“Best hour of the past week-and-a-half!! Love my friends!”
This is so awesome!! We are truly blessed with our town and school.”
“Thanks everyone for taking time to do this! It is truly amazing!”
