Third-Grade Teacher Gets the Surprise of a Lifetime

The Helpful SoCal Honda Dealers celebrated Teacher Appreciation Week in the Inland Empire as they made a stop at South Tamarind Elementary School in Fontana to surprise a well-deserving teacher with a myriad of school supplies and a stage makeover worth $5,000 on Tuesday, May 3. Third-grade teacher Mrs. Shelley Coakley “goes above and beyond to help her students,” Principal Joel Aviña shared. Mrs. Coakley’s class is a mixture of English as Second Language (ESL) students, special needs students, shy students, etc. “Specifically what she does, is she puts together these plays,” Aviña explained. He is most proud of Mrs. Coakley’s ability to encourage and motivate her students through performance art. “By the end of the year, they’re up on the stage reciting their lines and it’s just so beautiful to see,” he explained. “It’s amazing; the parents and I are in awe…we think ‘how’d she do that?’ These are really shy kids, it’s hard for an adult to speak in front of a lot of people.” The surprise took place in the auditorium where Mrs. Coakley and her students rehearse and perform their plays. According to Principal Aviña, Mrs. Coakley believed that Fontana’s Superintendent of Schools Leslie Boozer had been invited to watch their play. Which was technically the truth since Boozer joined in on the event to help surprise Mrs. Coakley and then stayed to watch her talented students perform their historic play. Aviña said with a chuckle, “she [was] a little mad at me because she wanted to use the auditorium in the morning to rehearse but I wouldn’t let her.” Which is where the Honda Guys were, busy giving her stage a makeover and setting up all of the new school supplies for her. Various classes filled the auditorium; audience members included Superintendent Leslie Boozer and Fontana Mayor Acquanetta Warren, as well. “This is just so exciting…I might just cry during the surprise moment,” Mayor Warren said. As Mrs. Coakley and her third-grades, dressed in costume, entered the auditorium, the stage curtains remained closed. However, as Mrs. Coakley approached the front of the stage, Principal Aviña welcomed everyone and briefly shared and thanked Mrs. Coakley for her dedication to her students. The curtains opened and revealed the Helpful Honda Guys standing on her upgraded stage as it was filled with brand new school supplies including new stage risers, a library of entertaining grade-level books, crayons, paper, and more. Overall, she brings out the very best of her students by teaching them important skills through educational performances and plays. “It’s just amazing what she does…she really motivates them,” Principal Aviña added.