‘Haircuts, Hair Braided, And Nails Done’: Kindergarten Teacher Gives Students ‘Self-Care’ Day
An elementary school teacher in Washington, DC gave his students a “self-care” day and the reception was priceless.
“I’m doing a self care day at my school for my students!” Azel Prather Jr. tweeted on Wednesday (Dec. 18).
“Shoutout to all the people [that] donated their time and skills!” the kindergarten teacher at KIPP DC Arts & Technology Academy added. “Haircuts, hair braided, and nails done. Ima keep y’all updated but yeah. I’m geeked up.”
Prather’s goal was to make sure his students looked and felt good for the holidays, WUSA9 reports.
“I want to make sure my kids go into the Christmas holiday looking good and essentially feeling good,” he told WUSA9.
Prather partnered with more than a dozen barbers, beauticians and nail techs to do free haircuts, manicures and fun hairstyles, WUSA9 reports.
The loving teacher said he was motivated by the fact that some of his students’ parents may not have the means to do this for their children or the transportation needed to get them to a barbershop or beauty salon, WUSA9 reports.
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It’s not the first year Prather’s giving heart has shined through. Last year, he took to social media to raise donations of toys for his class. Word got out and the donations poured in enough to surprise not only his kindergarten class but the whole school, WUSA9 reports.
On Friday (Dec. 20), the surprises will continue as Santa is scheduled to pay a visit to the school and bring gifts for the children, WUSA9 reports.
“These kids face things you could never imagine, but they come to school every day and smile,” Prather told WUSA9. “So why not give them that joy?”
On Friday (Dec. 20), the surprises will continue as Santa is scheduled to pay a visit to the school and bring gifts for the children, WUSA9 reports.
“Today, was perfect,” Prather told BET. “That’s all I wanted was for them to feel the joy.”
Prather also said it’s important to show the children first-hand what community is about.
“I wanted to show them that I care about their grades and how they feel, too,” he told BET. “It’s a way to show them what community does. And it shows them someone that looks like them and talks like them cares.”
