Enfield Teachers and Staff See Their Students By Motorcade: VIDEO

ENFIELD, CT — With schools closed for the last several weeks and non-essential businesses ordered to shut down temporarily, neighborhoods across America have more resembled ghost towns, with fears over the new coronavirus keeping most residents indoors. New terms such as "social distancing" have become a standard part of the national lexicon, as people are urged to maintain at least six feet of distance between themselves and others.

The close bond between elementary school teachers and their students has never been more evident than it was Saturday in Enfield, as staff members from Prudence Crandall Elementary School took to the streets to see the kids they have been missing since the mandated school shutdown on March 12.

Kelsey McGuire Bruce, a 4th grade teacher at Crandall, and 5th grade teacher Julie Nuzzo organized a vehicle parade consisting of teachers, staff members, paraprofessionals, lunch aides and custodians. At 1 p.m., 39 vehicles, led by Enfield police officer Jamie Yott, left the town hall parking lot and traversed every neighborhood in northern Enfield from which their students hail, and the children's reactions to seeing their beloved mentors again made the 150-minute jaunt worthwhile, Bruce said.

To register for free Enfield news alerts and more, click here.

"Some of the kids had signs, and there were families on pretty much every street we went down," Bruce said shortly after completion of the circuitous route. "We've already received messages from a lot of people saying they were brought to tears by it."

Many of the vehicles were adorned with decorations, and many contained messages for their students.

The caravan concluded at the Brainard Road school, which serves grades 3 through 5. Some families who had missed the parade down their streets had gathered in the parking lot, all the while observing social distancing protocol.

"The Crandall family always comes together, and this is one way we could do that during this challenging time," Bruce said.