Maryland Elementary Brings Students Holiday Cheer Amid Pandemic

PHOENIX — A folding table overflowed with Barbies, playdough, all the trucks a kid could want, and a line of cars flowed into the street. With holiday music blasting and their ugly sweaters on, Maryland Elementary School's teachers and administrators kicked off the last day of the semester with a drive-thru toy drive.

Each student, from kindergarten through third grade, was allowed to pick out one present from the comfort of their car and say hi to Santa, also known as Principal Nick Gupton.

"A lot of the moms are going, 'You're the only Santa they're going to see this year," Gupton told Patch at the Friday morning event.

Normally, the school, part of the Washington Elementary School District, would set up a Santa performer in the library and have each class of students take their turn sitting on his knee.

"We obviously can't do that this year," Gupton said. "[The drive-thru] is very safe."

Washington Elementary School Director of Communications Pam Horton said that the district's students and staff alike have had a difficult time adjusting to virtual learning, especially for bigger moments.

"One of our schools won a national blue ribbon, another won an A+ award," she said. "It's hard because we can't have these celebrations."

But socially distant events like Maryland's help to keep morale high. The staff made the most of the situation pivoted to a drive-thru, following the model they did to distribute food, laptops and routers when the pandemic first hit.

Keller Williams Reality Biltmore Partners donated the toys for the second year in a row. Any left over toys will be saved for incentive prizes the school gives to students throughout the year.

With gatherings limited and mall Santas keeping kids at arm's length due to the coronavirus pandemic's stronghold in Phoenix, holiday celebrations are few and far between for kids in 2020. The staff at Maryland wanted to ensure their students had something to look forward to, and a toy to put under the tree.

It was also a chance for the school's teachers to see their students in-person after months of virtual learning, which will likely carry through to the end of the academic year.

Special education teacher Maryanna Kitteredge said that many of the Title 1 school's students with no money for health insurance did not come in when it switched to hybrid learning earlier in the fall. This is the first time many of them have met their teachers face-to-face.

"It's so fun to see their little faces light up," Kitteredge said.