Ellen Surprises Special Ed Teacher From Lawrence With $50K

LAWRENCE TOWNSHIP, NJ - A Philadelphia special education teacher from Lawrence Township was surprised with a pair of checks totaling $50,000 during her appearance on the Ellen Show this week.

Jenna Albi, 25, is a fourth-grade special education teacher at Hardy Williams Mastery Charter School, a Title 1 school in southwest Philadelphia. Nearly all of her students fall below the poverty line, and she spends her own money to get school supplies and to feed her students during the school week.

“They face difficult things every day,” she said of her students, noting that funding is always an issue for the K-6 school that deals primarily with special education students that have a financial need.

She told Ellen her story after Ellen pulled her out of the audience. A visibly surprised Albi went up on stage and spoke to the talk show host, who then informed her that Cheerios was donating $25,000 to her school.

Albi went on to tell Ellen that she was buried in student loans, and expected to be paying $1,000 a month for the next 20 years. That’s when Ellen surprised her with a $25,000 check Cheerios was donating directly to her.

Albi wanted to be a teacher since she was a child. She was motivated by her brother, who had a disability and always struggled in school.

“He felt like school wasn’t his thing,” Albi told Ellen. “I wanted to make every kid feel like school was for them.”

You can watch the full video of Albi’s appearance on The Ellen Show below.

Video/image via YouTube.