Beloved Pittsburgh-area elementary teacher surprised with $300 gift card

A beloved teacher at Clara Barton Elementary School in West Mifflin got a big surprise on Thursday.

"I did not expect this at all, I was very surprised," said third grade teacher Mrs. Betsy Churma-Buchleitner.

There was cake for "Mrs. B," as many people at the school know her. She did not see the flowers and the company coming.

"I thought maybe you guys were just coming to do a little skit on our nice little elementary building in our nice little neighborhood," Churma-Buchleitner said.

Walmart gifted her a $300 gift card Thursday as part of its celebration of Teacher Appreciation Week. 

"We'll do something fun to send them off to the middle school next year, for sure," said Churma-Buchleitner.

"Watching how humbled she was was really great for all of us to see in the community," said West Mifflin Walmart store lead Jessica Rudolf.

The third graders who Churma-Buchleitner teaches had nothing but wonderful things to say about her. The sentiments are echoed by those who work with her.

"Any given day, she'll just say 'OK, lunch on me!' And she'll go and get us pizzas or hoagies," said Clara Barton Elementary principal Sharna Baker.

Churma-Buchleitner has been at Clara Barton Elementary for 28 years. This school is more than a job for her.

"It's a group effort here at school. This is my second family," Churma-Buchleitner said. 

It's part of why it's so easy for her to give so much.

"I don't think that it's anything extraordinary, it's just what you do as a teacher, what we all do as a teacher here," Churma-Buchleitner said.

Rudolf said since Churma-Buchleitner buys lunch for the faculty so many times, Walmart is going to be doing one some day next week.