Super recognition for teachers in Lakewood Ranch

On Dec. 12, Gilbert W. McNeal Elementary School teacher Jodi Samson did not just feel like a superhero. She was one.

She and the school’s 59 other teachers sported superhero capes and masks thanks to children in the school’s K-Kids club, a service program of Kiwanis International, and its “Teachers are Superheroes” Day. 

The Bradenton Kiwanis Club sponsors the group at McNeal, along with teachers Tina Peters, Jeannine Germer and Angie Hughes.

“We love it,” Samson said. “We are superheroes. I have a magic wand that I like to use to create goodness and kindness and good listeners.”

She said the wand is invisible, but is still works much of the time.

Lakewood Ranch resident and Bradenton Kiwanis member Laurie Fox orchestrated the idea. About 50 K-Kids participants helped decorate goodie bags stuffed with treats and a coffee mug that read “Teachers are Heroes, Too.” Children delivered the packages to teachers that morning.

McNeal Principal Cheryl McGrew said teachers loved the recognition.

“It’s uplifting,” McGrew said. “It shows students the value of kindness and being supportive of other people.”