A Puuurfect Surprise At Charlotte-Mecklenburg

Press release from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools:

9/30/2020

Two Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Zoom sessions had special guests Sept. 29. Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper and running back Christian McCaffrey joined two classes to give teachers and students tickets to the Panthers game Oct. 4.

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the Panthers haven't had fans in the stadium so far this year. The stadium will open on Sunday at 7 percent capacity.

Christine Schonour, a teacher at Irwin Academic Center, surprised her students with a visit from McCaffrey.

"Unfortunately, we haven't been able to have fans at our games so far this year," said McCaffrey. "But that's changing this week. And I know Mrs. Schonour is a big Carolina Panthers fan, so I want to formally invite you guys to be some of the first people to come into this stadium this year, and we want you to be extremely loud. We can't wait to see you there. I hope to come and say hello from a distance."

As part of her classroom management, Schonour makes sure her students mute themselves when someone else is talking. When McCaffrey first joined the Zoom, the students were silent, but thrilled. "They were so excited to see him," she said. "You could see how excited they were. Big eyes, cheering, gasping – I think they were in shock. And then they unmuted themselves to let him know."

Tepper joined Kimberly Bellamy, Statesville Road Elementary kindergarten teacher, to invite her and her colleagues to the game. Bellamy was in tears as she told Tepper she considers herself the Panthers' number-one fan.

"I know things have been tough in the pandemic," said Tepper. "I really appreciate the dedication you have. I love teachers. We'd like to invite you to the game this Sunday. We appreciate you, and all the teachers there are invited to the game against the [Arizona] Cardinals on Sunday."

The Panthers are also providing masks, parking, food and gift bags for the students and teachers. "Now that Panthers fans are able to be back in Bank of America Stadium on game day, it presents a great opportunity to surprise some gifted teachers within CMS who incorporate their affinity for the team as a way to encourage, engage and motivate their students," said Riley Fields, Panthers director of community relations. "Teaching and learning remotely is demanding on everyone. We hope the game-day experience will create a positive, shared bond that will create classroom engagement for students, while also expressing gratitude for the skilled efforts of teachers."

Bellamy is still in shock after the surprise. "I am honored to be chosen," she said. "There have been a lot of unknown these past few months and things we don't have control over. This is what a sense of normalcy feels like."

This press release was produced by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. The views expressed are the author's own.