Will Santa Come?

It was a normal morning at Perkins on December 5, 2016. The principal was out greeting students as they came marching down the hall towards their classrooms. Children were smiling, giving high fives, and chattering amongst friends, like birds on a spring day. One little girl walked up to the principal gave him a high five. With a cute little smile, she stated, “We aren’t going to have any presents for Christmas.” The principal responded, “What did you say Angela?” Angela looked at the principal straight in the eyes and reiterated, “Santa Claus isn’t coming to our house this year.”  The principal exclaimed, “Santa will come!” What else can you say to a little girl who looks at you with those puppy eyes. It broke his heart. At Perkins, they truly believe that together they can change the world. You want to know how? They call it TEAM work. This is how it went down. On that same day, the principal took his story to Ms. Mallory and Mrs. Blanco. You could see the wheels spinning. Thoughts were activated. A plan was being shaped. Ms. Mallory the school counselor, Nela Blanco the Bilingual Community Outreach Worker, parents, and staff came together to seek out sources to allocate funds to provide our needy families a Christmas experience. Santa will come! It was a miracle! Our internal and external communities raised $1400.00 dollars. Who would be this generous? The Latino Heritage Festival, Kaleo Church of Des Moines, Shop With Cops, parents and staff all came together to help raise enough funds to provide 11 families a wonderful Christmas experience. That wasn’t the end of it. Nela and Kelly dashed to Kohl’s to discover yet another surprise. Kohl’s was very generous with a 50% discount off the gifts they purchased. The work wasn’t done. Nela Blanco and Kelly Mallory wrapped each gift to exemplify the feeling of Christmas under the tree. Finally, as Santa does on Christmas eve, Kelly and Nela loaded up their sleighs and delivered each gift to the proper home. Wow! This is above and beyond. It is rare that we hear of the altruistic services our educators do each and everyday-in our public schools. We should be proud of our educators. I know I am.

Happy Holidays to all of our families and children, and Happy Holidays to Iowa.

Mr. Koss