A Wichita-area teacher got two surprises when she appeared on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”
Sixth-grade social studies teacher Victoria Bay appears in a remotely-produced episode that airs on Thursday.
“There is no one more appreciated right now than teachers,” Ellen DeGeneres said at the start of the episode. “I think every parent at home is realizing how lucky that they are that they have people like you that want to spend every minute of the day with kids helping them.”
Bay is from Wichita and teaches at Andover Central Middle School, according to the school’s website.
The teacher told DeGeneres that she was heading out for a spring break hike when she found out that schools would be closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Kansas was the first state to close school buildings for the rest of the school year.
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“I was shocked and confused,” Bay said. “And then I just broke down and started crying and just thinking about how I wasn’t going to get to see my kids again and I didn’t really get to tell them goodbye.”
So she wrote letters to 104 students, addressing the feelings they were having.
“I just wanted them to know that they weren’t alone.”
About 10 students have written back. And some students appeared in a surprise clip, talking about their favorite teacher.
That surprise was followed up by another. DeGeneres partnered with Box Tops for Education for a $25,000 gift to the teacher.
WATCH Ellen’s Video Surprise for Admirable Teacher VIDEO BELOW:
The whole scene is available online on EllenTube. “Ellen” airs at 4 p.m. on CBS, KWCH, cable Channel 12.
