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Memphis Teacher Walks Students Home From School

Published  October 7, 2015 3:10pm EDT
FOX 29 Philadelphia

MEMPHIS, TN (WTXF) - A Memphis teacher has been getting a lot of attention after he was seen going above and beyond his regular duties.

The Whitney Achievement Elementary School special education teacher, Carl Schneider, was photographed walking young kids home from school one afternoon.

Coming from the Post Office on Whitney & Baskin I saw this teacher walking his students home...(more students lagging behind)Wooooow!Big UPS 󾮗🏿to this teacher!Just found out his name is Mr Schneider!

Carl Schneider simply says the act of kindness is not only good for the students, but good for him as well.

The walk home from the elementary school is not an area many would choose to walk alone in.

"When we started to launch the school, we recognized that there was a need in the community for children to be able to get home safely," said Whitney Achievement Principal Debra Broughton.

Schneider started a small effort making big waves in that neighborhood.

"Frayser gets a lot of bad press, but I have never felt unsafe," said Schneider. "I smile and look at every single person I walk by in the eye and they reciprocate.

A photograph of Schneider walking children home soon went viral.

"More and more people started screenshotting it and texting it to me and tagging me on it on Facebook," said Schneider.

Schneider has been doing this routine for all three years he's been at the elementary school. He's made a significant impact in afterschool safety after recruiting four other teachers to help him walk the 40 kids home.

Schneider says it's a good way to get to know the students outside the academic setting.

"We can just get to know the kids and talk about what they did over the weekend or how their behavior was at school that day or what they learned," said Schneider.

There are nearly 200 students at the school who walk almost two miles home every day. This not only ensures that the kids get home safe, but it also creates a closer bond between teachers and students.

"This is just part of my routine, and it's something that I look forward to so I was kind of surprised but at the same time," said Schneider. "At the same time, I'm also really glad that people know the teachers in this community are really invested in the community."