Every year parents get ready for back-to-school time by shopping for clothes, shoes, and school supplies. For many families, these new items are financially out of reach. That's where teachers come in. Teachers around the country spend their own money to make sure students have what they need in class. One group of sixth graders, however, decided to give back to their teachers with a big surprise in the beginning of the school year in 2021.
Sixth graders at Parlin Junior High School in Everett, Massachusetts, surprised 10 teachers with boxes full of enough school supplies to last them the full school year.
The teachers were thankful. Teacher Katelyn Crossley was especially grateful, as she regularly spends her own money to have sufficient supplies in her classroom for the students.
"They have what they need, so they'll feel prepared and they'll feel ready for the year," she said of the boxes full of calculators, notebooks, and other supplies. "I'm very, very grateful."
The surprise reveal was put together with the help of the Kids in Need Foundation, which provides funds for supplies. According to its website, Kids in Need helped nearly 200,000 teachers and more than 6 million students in 2020.
"Having things as seemingly simple as a pencil or a notebook, it can seem really basic until you don't have them," said Claire Spinti of the foundation.
See the surprised teachers and the big reveal in the video.