A Miami teacher scolded her first grader for sleeping in class, then learned the 6-year-old had not eaten in nearly 24 hours.
Rachel Faust is a young first-grade teacher at a school in Miami populated by mostly children from low-income families. In fact, 99 percent of the students at the school fall below the poverty line.
Rachel, who prides herself on teaching her children through positivity, noticed one of her 6-year-old students continued to put her head on her desk and fall asleep. Rachel decided to pull the student into the hall to discuss not focusing on class.
The girl’s response caught Rachel off guard.
The 6-year-old apologized and admitted that she was not tired – she was starving.
“I’m so sorry, Ms. Faust, I’m just so hungry. I missed breakfast and we haven’t eaten since lunch yesterday.”
Rachel used this as motivation to fuel her to continue to help the school set incredible records through positive teaching. This Miami teacher knew she did not have any control over what happened to her students while they were at home. She did, however, have control over what happened to them while they were at school.
Ellen DeGeneres caught wind of this incredible first-grade teacher.
Ellen is a talk show host and comedian who takes great pride in finding people who make a difference to bring on her show. In most cases, Ellen brings these individuals onto her show and then gives them some sort of donation. When Ellen caught wind of Rachel Faust’s story, she felt compelled to bring her on the show.
During Rachel’s appearance on the show, Ellen asked her questions about her teaching position. The teacher from Miami opened up about how nearly all of the students fell below the poverty line and the only meals they ate on a daily basis were at school.
Ellen also talked to Rachel about how teachers are grossly underpaid.
Rachel agreed and revealed that she spent more than a thousand dollars of her own money to set up her classroom.
After learning how much money Rachel puts into her job as a teacher, Ellen talked about her partnership with JC Penney. Then, Ellen revealed JC Penney decided to give Rachel a $100,000 check for her school.
Excited, surprised, and overwhelmed with joy, tears streamed down Rachel Faust’s face.
Hungry children are a problem all across the United States.
According to Feeding America, there are over 42 million Americans struggling with hunger. This number includes 13 million children and 5.4 million seniors who do not have enough food to eat on a daily basis. Statistics also reveal households with children struggle with accessing enough food more than households without children.
For children in these low-income families, free and reduced lunch programs at school offer the one meal these children can count on eating every day. Unfortunately, some of these children just go without food after school and on the weekends. This is also why some schools even offer summer meal programs where families with children can come for one meal a day during the summer months when school is not in session.
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