LIMA, Ohio (WLIO) – It’s hard to believe, but school starts this week for some area districts. On Monday, some Lima City Schools teachers took a pre-school field trip of their own.
Staff from Unity Elementary School loaded a bus for a tour around the neighborhood. Principal Tricia Winkler wanted to take her team out to see where their students live and play, as well as to learn what opportunities are available to them. Winkler said she hoped the trip would help teachers better understand their students and how to connect with them.
“Now that you know what you know, and you know where some of our students come from, and maybe some obstacles that they have at home, how can you gauge your teaching to meet the needs of all the students,” Winkler said.
Blessings Gurley, a first-year intervention specialist for third and fourth grades, said the experience reinforced the importance of empathy.
“And kind of really being sympathetic and empathetic to those situations and understanding that, you know, not everyone’s life’s the same. Not everyone lives in the same conditions as, you know, I was brought up in, or someone else was brought up in. So it’s like really having that understanding of, hey, you know, this is where this person lives, and they still choose to come all the way out to Unity or one of the other schools in the district, and they really make that effort, you know, to really be there on time as much as they can,” Gurley said.
Students return to class on Wednesday, with Unity Elementary holding its annual “Clap In” to welcome them back and encourage them to succeed throughout the school year. Winkler invites the community to join the “Clap In” at 8:15 a.m. as students arrive at school.
