Students celebrate 4th-grade teacher with 'thank you' parade

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GRAFTON -- Almost his entire 4th grade class paraded past Woodview Elementary 4th-grade teacher Pat Mangin's house in Grafton just to say 'thank you.'

"It's just great to see the kids." said a surprised Mangin. "I haven't seen them in such a long time now and it's been...it's been a rough month."

After getting her own birthday parade, and seeing her teachers there, Aubrey Anschutz knew the next parade had to be for Mr. Mangin.

"He was such a good teacher and he should get rewarded for that." Aubrey said.

"They wanted to say thank you to Mr. Mangin and, I think after all of this, all parents really appreciate teachers." said Aubrey's mother, Jennifer Anschutz.

Grafton police and fire departments led the parade and were followed by a group of excited nine and ten year olds carrying a banner. After talking with the kids, it's hard to blame them for their brief lapse in social distancing rules.

"Seeing all my friends, that's pretty much it." said 4th-grader Zack Schumacher, describing what he misses most. "Because friends are a part of life for me. I could not live without them.

These kids haven't seen their school, their teacher or each other in more than six weeks now.

Without even knowing he was doing it, Mr. Mangin gave them a chance to be regular kids again, even for just 20 minutes.

"I hope that they realize that I care about them and that I want them to be as successful as possible." Mangin said. "I'm trying to get them prepared for life, 5th grade and beyond."

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