HAMPTON, Va. — It’s no secret teachers are missing their students during the pandemic, but one Hampton City School teacher is catching international attention for how he’s handling the situation.
Inside Kecoughtan High School, Mark Mingee’s classroom desks are covered with photo cut-outs of people.
“As long as we don’t have students in the room, I have these students in the room. So, that’s the way I’m really going to look at it,” said Mingee. “I thought it would be nice to have five people say, 'Hey, I want to do this.'”
Now there are 44 pictures and counting.
“It’s overwhelming,” said Mingee. He's received so many photos, that he’s using the walls.
He told us he got the idea for these cut-outs from Major League Baseball teams doing the same to fill empty stands. So, he posted on Facebook, saying he’d feature a picture on a desk with each $20 donation to the school’s Youth-in-Government club scholarship fund.
Now he’s raised $1,100 which goes to a graduating senior in the club.
“This is a little something they can take with them to college,” said Mingee.
Mingee said many of the donors are Kecoughtan alumni, like Katherine Glass. She said, “We are two generations of warriors and he was just a fabulous teacher.”
“It’s a win-win. It helps him be a better teacher and that’s a community support his kids in a challenging time, and it prepares them for future local government,” said Glass.
Overall, it’s a small gesture to students that’s connecting the community during the pandemic.
“The biggest thing is that I want to keep going forward. I want us to keep doing things through it. I want them to learn the subject material. I want them to see that between me and the staff here at Kecoughtan, and the community as a whole, that we do care,” said Mingee.