It has been a long time, more than two decades since I had a chance to write about Peggy Scott. If the name isn’t totally familiar it is because she is Peggy Scott Thomas as of this writing.

 

When she was Peggy Scott, she was a pretty good basketball player at Bridgeport High School. The 1997 BHS graduate was likely used to seeing her name in print or a picture or two in the newspaper.

 

She probably expected that. Peggy Scott Thomas may not have expected to be photographed April 22. It is almost a certainty she won’t expect to see her name today in relation to the photo.

 

The photo is right here. It is from the evening of the April 22 as Johnson Elementary had what they called a “Carcade.” It was a parade of cars driving through the JES parking lot through a maze of the teachers, more than 50 of them all socially distanced, allowing students and their teachers to speak to one another at a safe distance.

 

We had Ben Queen with Joey Signorelli and Kyle Jenkins to capture the moments. And the photos were equal parts fun, amazing and emotional  

 

This one, however, was the one. It was the one that made me stop and pause. It was the one that made me think back to my days in kindergarten and elementary school and every single homeroom teacher I had starting from Mrs. Karen Nardella in kindergarten to Mrs. Dorothy Grant in sixth grade at the former North View Junior High.

 

Kids may be a bit naïve to worldly things at that age, but they know when they are loved. I knew it then. It turned me from the kid who vomited every morning in kindergarten to a two-time winner of class clown as a freshman in junior high and then for my senior year in high school.

 

Yeah, those thoughts were there when I saw Peggy Scott Thomas. Her eyes filled with tears, her hand over her mouth as students drove past them in the first non-computer or phone contact in more than a month. Any child that saw her tears or saw the smiles and joy on their teacher’s faces knew one thing for certain – they are loved.

 

“Different people express their emotions differently. With Peggy, she had tears of sorrow for missing her kids and she had tears of happiness to see the kids,” said JES Principal Vicki Huffman. “You can see the love coming from that picture.”

 

You could. I do not know if Johnson Elementary was the first to do this in the area, which is really a moot point, but there are plenty that have taken place since or in the works at schools throughout the county and region.

 

“The feeling she is showing is what keeps us going. That event was everything,” said Assistant Principal Heather Holbert. “People thought it was just for the children. As much as it was for the children, selfishly, it was for us just the same.”

 

The reactions of smiles and tears amidst the waving hands, horns being blown, and signs being held high as a result of real-life emotion for educators who miss their students is not the exclusive right of Johnson Elementary School. It is the same for those at Simpson, Bridgeport Middle and Bridgeport High School.

 

It is the same throughout Harrison County. It is the same in West Virginia, the rest of the country and likely large parts of the world where the COVID-19 pandemic has changed things in ways no one expected. I just imagine, from my own personal experiences, the impact on those in the elementary levels are the ones the most uncertain as to what is taking place. I am certain some of those little minds are worried.

 

They are not alone. Their educators are worried too.

 

“We miss our kids and we know they miss us. Our heart just goes out because there are so many circumstances beyond our control,” said Huffman. “We want to stay engaged with the kids and communicate with the parents and let them know how much we love them.”

 

Holbert echoed those comments.

 

“A lot of teachers don’t sleep at night. There is worry about who has access to food, worry about who isn’t answering calls, worry about a potential home situation or worry about understanding their materials and if the support system is strong enough,” said Holbert. “There is just worry.”

 

The administration and staff at Johnson are working on other events, as I am certain other schools are as well. The interaction is vital to make the students and the teachers as close to whole during this pandemic as possible.

 

Peggy Thomas, the pre-school aid with Mrs. Miranda Miller’s class who Holbert said “is just amazing with kids,” will likely be there for the next event whatever it may be. Peggy Thomas, who Huffman said she constantly tells to get her teaching certificate because “she’s that good,” put a face on what educators are going through at the April 22 event.

 

I have never doubted our educators care. The photo, to me, proved it not just for Peggy Thomas but for everyone who is in the most noble of professions of educating our youth.

 

“It’s just such a fantastic photograph,” said Holbert. “It summed up, I think the feelings of teachers everywhere,” said Holbert.

 

It was perfect. Actually, it was picture perfect.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows Peggy Scott Thomas overcome with emotion during the April 22 event that drew plenty of attention and comments on social media - all positive. In the second photo, Principal Vicki Huffman waves to the kids, while Thomas is shown talking to a car passing by in the "Carcade" event. Bottom photo shows Assistant Principal Heather Holbert interacting with students as Officer Jamie Hamrick and therapy dog Connor are in the background. Photos by Ben Queen Photography.