Middle School Teacher Surprises Unity Junior High School Students with Alternative Graduation
Alejandro Suarez and his family pose for a photo during a graduation set up by his teacher, Ms. Amelia Suarez (Image provided by Amelia Suarez)
By Leslie Hurtado
Early on June 8, some Unity Junior High School students rushed to put on their cap and gown for their eighth grade graduation. Their teacher, Ms. Amelia Suarez, had informed them that at the end of the year she would visit them at their home to celebrate.
Cicero teachers like Suarez have had to find alternative ways to celebrate students, often the first in their families to graduate, during school closures brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
To the students’ surprise, Suarez was waiting outside their home near a bedecked class of 2020 backdrop, big orange styrofoam letters that spelled Unity and cookies from a local bakery in Cicero. As students walked toward their beloved teacher, their families cheered them on for an alternative graduation.
“It made me feel really happy that I got to see [Ms. Suarez] one more time and she brought the graduation to me and I got to experience that feeling of happiness of being able to graduate,” said Beverly Valdez, one of the graduating eight graders. “I really appreciate my teacher because she did all this and she does so much for us. She helps us not only by teaching us how to do math and all this complicated algebra but she also helps us emotionally. She sets up meetings or special activities to help us with our mental health and it’s just really comforting coming from a teacher.”
Suarez said she was inspired to create something special for her students since they were not able to walk the graduation stage this year. Out of 147 students, 26 agreed to see Suarez. Suarez also requested that their families be present during the social visit. All 26 confused students, who did not know what their teacher was up to, still followed Suarez’s orders and awaited the day she would come.
“I learned that a lot of my students are the oldest in their family, so this is the first graduation their parents would have experienced,” said Suarez. “So the message was more to show love and support to students. Even through this pandemic we'll find ways to continue to celebrate you and this accomplishment.”
Along with students not being able to cross the stage, Suarez said some of her students struggled without the one-on-one instruction in the classroom where she simplified material that was hard to comprehend.
“When [my students] were informed that we weren’t going back to school, it was very scary,” said Suarez. “Some students have expressed that they didn’t know how valuable [traditional classes] were. Students also said that they learned more about themselves and taking care of their mental health.”
Some parents acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused stress for their children which forced students to learn independently at the ages of 13-15. Suarez told her students that they had to leave their comfort zone and ask questions if virtual school assignments were challenging.
When parents received a text message from Suarez that she had arrived at their home they didn’t quite know what to expect.
Jazmin Salgado, a mother of one of the students, said her daughter was able to complete e-learning classes without guidance, but she still wanted to have the experience of graduating on stage. When Suarez surprised her and her family, Salgado was very appreciative of the gesture.
“We were all happy considering they didn't have an actual graduation,” said Salgado. “For this teacher to go out of her way and to create a moment for my daughter, I feel like that was super nice and it was an awesome thing for all of us to just have a few minutes of celebration all together.”
Maribel Nieves, another parent, said she was surprised when she looked out her window and saw Suarez setting up a backdrop.
“I was very excited and [my daughter] was very happy and nervous at the same time. I’m very grateful for the teacher and this lovely effort,” said Nieves.
*Update: To watch the video created by Amelia Suarez of her students cross the stage she prepared, click below.
Leslie Hurtado is a community reporter for Cicero Independiente.
