Cindy Haupt, new teacher induction coordinator for Montezuma-Cortez School District RE-1, wanted to find a way to show support for district personnel amid a challenging school year.
Partnering with the LOR Foundation, she tried to think outside the box, not wanting to hand out traditional gifts like mugs, she said.
She took to the idea of blankets, which evoke feelings of warmth and comfort.
Plus, gifting blankets to staff would create a tie to regional Native American culture – as blankets are representative of kindness and are used to seal relationships, she said.
“We have a lot of Native American influence,” she said.
Blankets, encompassing in their folds, would stand as a metaphor for the support system surrounding all district employees, Haupt said.
“There’s so many people that work behind the scenes every day,” she said.
While Haupt had hoped the gifting initiative would take place sooner, she thinks the timing around the holiday season was meant to be.
Accompanying presentations saw members of the community – parents, businesses, public servants, school board members and Mayor Mike Lavey – deliver short speeches to district personnel.
During these meetings before or after school, stories were exchanged, and so were tears, Haupt said.
“It was very emotional,” she said.
Moe than 400 blankets have been donated, and they are being handed out this week.
“From bus drivers to nutrition staff, from school nurses to our paraprofessionals and teachers, all play a huge role in educating the children of Cortez,” said Nicci Crowley, community officer at the LOR Foundation. “We brought each department and school together in groups to celebrate them and the hard work that they do.”
Three retired Manaugh Elementary teachers and a former student volunteered to distribute the blankets, Crowley said.
“One of the bus drivers spoke about how the transportation department is her family and those children who get on her bus are her kids,” she said. “When I got back to my office, there were thank you emails and texts from district staff.”
