Coronavirus Kindness: East Bay math teachers show appreciation for students amid coronavirus pandemic

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ByMelissa Pixcar KGO logo
Monday, May 25, 2020
East Bay teachers go all out to show appreciation for students amid COVID-19
Livermore math teachers go above and beyond to say thank you to their students who are staying resilient and positive amid the coronavirus pandemic.

LIVERMORE, Calif. (KGO) -- Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, we have seen an overflow of gratitude towards everyone who working on the front lines. A small group of Algebra teachers from Granada High School in Livermore is switching gears and are thanking their students for all their hard work and resiliency.

Algebra two teachers Bryan Hahn, Nicole Avilla and Hayley Jefferies are taking to the streets to express their gratitude during COVID-19 and they're doing it in style.

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In a week, they have stopped by for a socially distant visit to 100 students, leaving candy and a special thank you note.

""We just want to let our students know that we miss them. During teacher appreciation week, we received a lot of email and nice messages, a little recognition and it felt good," said Nicole Avilla, math teacher at Granada High School in Livermore. "But we decided that students weren't getting recognized even though they were thrown into the same exact situation that we were. We just wanted to do something to put a little smile on their faces."

Students have had to adapt to distance learning through Zoom and other online platforms but this group of math teachers wanted to let their students know that their hard work isn't going unnoticed.

"The kids got thrown into this just as quickly as us teachers did," said Bryan Hahn, math teacher at Granada High School in Livermore. "They are being really resilient, they're adapting very quickly and we just want to show some appreciation."

"It feels great to be appreciated," said Sierra Kosingana, sophomore at Granada High School. "We are working hard at home so having a little appreciation is really nice."

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"If it was anyone at this school to do something like this, it would be this group of teachers," said Charlotte Wilks, sophomore at Granada High School. "They always look out for us, they want us to be excited about learning and happy."

For this group of teachers, their dedication goes beyond the classroom and they want to help their students at this time.

"I definitely think that our job is extremely important right now, reaching out to students and letting them know that, just because we are not seeing them every day, that doesn't mean that we are not thinking about them and caring about them," said Avilla. "Wanting to know that they are OK not just academically but emotionally and mentally as well."

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