Flint Teacher Is Doing More Than Just Teaching, She’s Feeding Students

Let me say this right out of the gate. What this Genesee County teacher is doing is freaking awesome.

Shanay Kidd-Cole, a special education teacher at Durant-Tuuri-Mott Elementary, turned her classroom closet into a food pantry for her students. Not for attention. Not for recognition. And definitely not because someone told her she had to. She did it simply because she saw kids who needed help and decided to step up.

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Here’s another reason she deserves mad props. She paid for the first wave of food out of her own pocket.

Students can go in and grab bags of food to take home or get something warm right in the classroom if they need it. We’re talking simple comfort stuff like mashed potatoes, canned goods, and other shelf foods.

She also recently won $500 through a teaching campaign, and instead of pocketing it, she used it to throw a Thanksgiving Fest for her students and staff. This is the second year she’s gone all out for them, too. We need more of this in our school systems. Big hearts. Period.

Even kids from other classrooms end up in Room 24 when they’re still hungry. And she makes sure they leave with full hands and a little less stress.

One student called her the best teacher ever, and yeah, we can’t argue with that.

Her pantry isn’t a short-term thing either. She plans to keep it going all year long. As long as she’s there, those kids will have food.

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We don’t personally know Shanay Kidd-Cole, but we have to assume she probably doesn’t want all the praise and attention she’s getting right now. Too bad. She’s getting it anyway, because it’s more than deserved.