Retired Teacher Continues to have an impact in the community!
Mrs. Cris Cunningham donates $200 to Grangeville Elementary Middle School!!!
WHAT A GAL!!!!
Where do I being?....I had the amazing opportunity to sit down and interview one of our hometown retired teachers, Cris Cunningham! Many of you probably already know that she taught at Grangeville for 20 years, but Cris has done a lot more than just that to help our community!
Cris got married to her husband Craig at 19 and had her son the following year. She started helping out at the daycare, which sparked her desire to become a teacher. She moved to Grangeville where she became the sixth grade teacher. Her favorite part about this group was to see them grow and mature so much in just one year.
Her desire and love for these kids went way beyond teaching behind a computer screen-in fact Cris was not that type of teacher at all. She always found ways for her students to be involved with the learning. This included having her students do a project on the dripping faucets at the school, which they presented to the superintendent and actually ended up saving the school money after the problem was fixed! Her students researched and started a recycling center in Grangeville, visited the nursing home monthly, and donated Christmas gifts to people in need.
Multiplication and cursive were in the curriculum but Cris didn't forget the importance of relationships and family. "Some of my students would come to my house after school to work on homework. I remember one time a student came to me crying because their parents were getting a divorce and I just hugged them. I am a big hugger. I think that is one thing right now that is super hard for kids is not getting a hug from their teacher when they might need it."
Cris came in to the Clinic on one of our extra exam days when we were donating to the school and actually made her own donation to the school! Cris donated to the fund at GEMS for students in need! We appreciate you Cris and your continual support to the school and the community!