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Teachers Across Sacramento Area Reach Out To Their Students In More Ways Than One

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — There was no horsing around in the parking lot of Barrett Ranch Elementary Thursday morning as teachers and the principal were on a mission to bring joy to their students.

"We have been going on two weeks of remote learning with our students," Principal Desyrae Stevenson said. "It's just not the same as seeing their smiling faces person to person."

Teachers jumped into their decorated cars to spread joy by parading around the neighborhood, honking and waving hi to their pupils, who loved the experience.

"Happy because I haven't seen my teacher in a long time!" Angeline Le, a Barrett Ranch student, said.

"It brightened up my day actually," Kailye Tkachuk, another student, said.

READ: School District Plans For Distance Learning Slow To Deploy To Families

"It's a good way to like communicate with them," Angeline's older sister, said.

Parents CBS13 spoke with said it was great to see their children's teachers tell them that they miss having them in their classrooms.

While some educators are lifting spirits from their cars, Terri Sorensen of Creek View Ranch Elementary in Roseville is taking things online. She talks with her students a couple of times a week.

"I wanted to make sure that we saw each other. And I can't tell you what it meant when I sent out the Zoom message and I didn't know if they got it. And slowly but surely they popped up," Sorensen said.

READ: Answering The Call: Sacramento Nonprofit Sees Surge In Volunteers To Check On Seniors

Then there's Baraba Auld, a second-grade teacher at Pacific Elementary. She's putting pen to paper to reach her students in this unprecedented time.

"I enjoy the old school of getting letters, cards from people that I know and so I thought it would be something they could maybe keep or remember," Auld said.

Auld's word of wisdom are packed into each letter. She's reminding students to stay healthy, stay active and keep reading during their time away from the classroom.

She said the biggest reward of all is knowing the letters can do some good for her kids.

"I just envision them picking up this letter and reading it," Auld said. "And I just hope it brought a smile to their face because it brought a smile to my face just to write them."

The second-grade teacher said she's written 22 letters so far.

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