They are the spontaneous reactions of gratitude from Lakota teachers who volunteered to be filmed while participating in a unique program introduced this spring in the Butler County school system.
Entitled “WE are Here for YOU,” the video series shows teachers and school staffers talking one-on-one with a single student they picked who inspires them to do their best and motivates them to do their best work each school day.
Many of the students filmed also get teary from the surprising show of gratitude and affection demonstrated by their teachers as the instructors explain exactly what it is about the student that helps them stay inspired to teach.
“We loved the concept,” said Betsy Fuller, spokeswomen for Lakota, which is Southwest Ohio’s largest suburban school system.
Fuller said the idea was borrowed from a northern Ohio school district’s efforts and customized to fit Lakota officials’ goals.
“We challenged our staff at each school to think of a student who inspired them to come to work and be a better teacher - or instructional aide or school resource officer, etc,” Fuller said.
“We surprised the students by calling them out of class & the teachers explained how the students inspire them. To create the videos, members of the school/community relations department traveled to each building to capture everything on film, which included all 23 school buildings, 112 staff members and 117 students,” she said.
“We have been flabbergasted by the response the series has received. The first video has been viewed 57,000 times and has 550 shares from our (Lakota) Facebook page alone. It has been amazing to read the comments and see how far away the videos have been shared - the farthest comment I saw came from someone in Pakistan,” she said.
The series of videos can also be seen on YouTube.
The first-time effort, which started at the beginning of the recently finished school year, is one of the reasons Lakota Schools has been recognized nationally with its various public outreach programs in recent years.
Fuller said “from the very first day of school in August, there has been an emphasis on building relationships between the staff and students.”
“The motivation and inspiration doesn’t just flow from teacher to student: our students inspire their teachers every single day. This video series not only showcases that to the public, but, more importantly, gave our staff the opportunity to tell students exactly how special they are.”
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