It's our Month of Giving Thanks here at the show.
So I wanted to show an adorable video
we received from some kindergartners, who want to say
thank you to their teacher.
Hi, Ms. Stewart.
It's Alexa here.
OMG, you are on The Ellen Show.
You are the best teacher ever.
You're my favorite teacher in the whole wide world.
I want to give you a biggest hug.
Thanks for being the best kindergartner teacher.
I learned so much.
My favorite thing about being in Ms. Stewart's class
is when she came to our house.
She read a book to us, and we ate cookies.
Thanks for being the best teacher.
Congratulations, Ms. Stewart.
You're the best teacher in the whole world.
Love you, Ms. Stewart.
[APPLAUSE]
Melissa, come on down.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[APPLAUSE]
Oh, my gosh.
Thank you.
Hi.
Come on.
How about that?
What does that feel like?
Oh, my gosh.
They're the best.
It's adorable.
They think you're the best.
Oh.
I mean, that is so--
I mean, first of all, it's hard, I
would think to be a kindergarten teacher.
I mean, you must love it because you do it.
I love it.
But I think it would be hard.
It's a bunch of little kids running around.
[LAUGHTER] Yeah.
Right?
Is that what happens.
Yeah, pretty much.
Yeah.
I have to say I'm blessed to work in the district I work in.
I work with some amazing teachers and staff.
But kindergarten is its own beast.
Yes.
It really is.
They're four and five-year-olds that they just want to be loved
and they just want to hold your hand,
and they want hugs when they're happy and hugs
when they're sad.
And they love playing with blocks.
COVID has definitely done--
it's done a great deal.
Yeah.
We're working through it.
That's what I was going to say.
I mean, it's harder now.
It's hard to be a kindergarten teacher,
but it makes it harder.
And they want human connection.
So you have been driving to the students' homes
to give them that connection, which is incredible
that you're doing that.
It's one of the hardest things.
You're with them from September to March.
And then all of a sudden, you get an email on a Friday
afternoon, saying we're going to be out for two weeks,
and then it gets extended.
And then it gets extended again.
And then you are getting emails from parents,
just saying how stressed, and the anxiety was so hard
for a lot of these kids.
And it literally broke my heart.
I have two kids on my own.
And I would never want them to feel that way,
that someone just left them.
Right.
So I started going out to houses and reading to them
and blowing bubbles and doing chalk and mazes
in their driveway, and just talking to them,
letting them know that I didn't leave them, and that I'm there,
and that I love them, and everything's going to be OK.
That's so sweet that you do that.
Thanks.
[APPLAUSE]
I mean, I have talked to enough teachers
that I know usually, you're taking money out
of your own pocket to take care of the needs
that the school has and for the kids.
And with the pandemic, it's even more so.
So you built these toolkits for them, right?
So the financial burden has been huge for a lot of parents.
A lot of parents have lost their jobs.
Their hours had been cut.
If I could have gone out to get every kid
some sort of electronic, because that was hard.
We're not a one-to-one school district.
So they don't have their own items at home.
So I decided, anyway, I could take a burden off
of the parents.
I decided to do that.
So I went and I created these toolkits for math
and reading and writing.
And I filled them with just anything
I could think of that could help them at home,
and then, again, take that piece off the parent's plate.
That's so great.
All right.
We're going to take a break, and then we'll
talk more about you and your wonderful self.
Thank you.
We'll be back.
[APPLAUSE]
I know that you've done everything
you can for students, but now more than ever,
technology is really important for them, right?
It is.
Like I was saying earlier, we're not a one-to-one school
district in our school right now.
You have 500 students.
Maybe 30 have what they need.
Right.
It's been really tough, especially during the pandemic.
You have a lot of parents sharing what they
have at home with their child.
And it's hard.
It creates a lot more stress, and it
creates a lot more anxiety within a home, and anxiety
that you don't need, especially during a pandemic.
Well, it is the Month of Giving Thanks.
So we want to do something for you and--
[APPLAUSE]
Our partner, Shutterfly, care about supporting
teachers and schools.
They are also donating $20,000 in technology.
If you walk over here, Melissa.
Oh, my gosh.
Sure.
$20,000 in technology to your school and--
[APPLAUSE]
We know you have student loans.
Shutterfly is going to pay those off.
Oh, my God.
And they want to give you $15,000.
[APPLAUSE]