US Headmaster Travels 800m To See 612 Lockdown Students

A Texas headmaster who missed his senior students during the COVID-19 pandemic has driven over 800 miles to visit all 612 of them.

Virdie Montgomery, 66, from the Wylie High School in the city of Wylie in the US state of Texas took a road trip with his wife where they spent over 80 hours driving over 12 days.

According to local media, the couple travelled over 800 miles to visit all 612 members of the senior class of 2020.

Credit: Newsflash/Virdie Montgomery

Virdie told local media: “I get emotional real easy with my kids and I just didn’t feel like I was doing enough. It just seemed like the right thing to do.”

The headmaster admitted that his wife was not always on board with the idea, saying: “She told me I was crazy!”

He added: “I tell you what, that first day, at the end of the first day it felt like I had made a mistake because it was hard.”

Virdie said that he gave each student he visited a Snickers bar so they could look back fondly on their senior year and ‘snicker’.

He told local media: “I delivered that joke nearly 600 times so it’s pretty lame.”

Virdie told local media: “I think most of them were glad to see me when I came by.”

Meanwhile, he also presented students with a verification of enrollment form which marks the end of their time of school.

Graduating student Laura Gurley said: “It kind of shows people that somebody does care for you out there. Most principals wouldn’t do that.”

Senior student Savannah Skinner told local media: “I’m a sucker for puns and stuff and that (Snickers gag) was perfect, that was right up my alley.

“I’m not always in the best mood because it’s been a while since I’ve seen anybody. So, it just brought a smile to my face and it made me really happy.”


To find out more about the author, editor or agency that supplied this story – please click below.
Story By: Lee BullenSub-EditorMichael Leidig,  Agency: Newsflash

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