Teacher gets crafty with cardboard cutouts of students after school goes virtual for fall semester
A Las Vegas teacher decided that if her students were not able to attend classes in-person amid the pandemic, she would create life-size stand-ins in her classroom instead.
Tara Swartz has been a fifth-grade teacher at Somerset Academy Lone Mountain for the past three years. She tells Yahoo Life it was “scary and sad” when the pandemic caused her school to shut down in March.
“We found out on a Sunday evening that we would not be returning the next Monday and there were so many questions left unanswered,” she says. “But I am so lucky to work at a school that was extremely prepared for the unknown. While we were able to jump right in to distance learning with minimal struggle, the most difficult part was not getting to say goodbye to our students and the loss of those big events we spend all year looking forward to sharing with them and their families.”
Following a summer of uncertainty, administrators notified students’ families on July 21 that the new school year would be starting virtually, rather than in-person. So, Swartz decided to get creative.
“My teammate and I were joking about the Dodgers cutouts [that fill the stands at baseball games] and I kind of just ran with the idea. I created a sample one and it turned out perfect!” she says.
When Swartz found out which students were in her class in the 2020-2021 academic year, she contacted their parents and had them take pictures of their students wearing school uniforms against a solid background. Once she received the pictures, she had them printed out on 11x14 posters. She says that all 26 of her students were so excited to see their life-sized cutouts in the classroom.
“Some were surprised at the pictures that their parents chose of them but I really wanted the cardboard cutouts to reflect their personalities,” Swartz says.
On Aug. 8, just ahead of the students’ meet and greet at school, the fifth-grade teacher shared a video of her classroom to Facebook to show off the cutouts.
“My WHOLE class is present and ready to ROCK this distance learning thing! I cannot wait for them to see themselves on Monday during meet n greet!” she captioned the video. “I got super emotional taking this video knowing that I won’t have them in person for the first 9 weeks BUT I’m also SOOO happy their #cardboardcutout peeps will be here in their place! Stealing ideas from the Los Angeles Dodgers is the best!”
Distance learning at Somerset Academy Lone Mountain began on Monday. The school’s principal, Cesar Tiu, tells Yahoo Life he’s not surprised by Swartz’s innovation.
“She has impressed me in many different ways since she started teaching at Somerset Academy Lone Mountain,” he says. “Aside from being a rock star teacher, Tara is highly involved at the school’s athletic program and she serves as one of the athletic directors.”
Swartz admits that she was surprised by the praise she’s received for her classroom innovation, but ultimately, she hopes she was able to spread hope and positivity.
“I want people to know that we aren’t always dealt the best had but how we handle the situation will show our true character,” she says. “And I want my students to learn that very same thing. It is going to be hard. It is going to be different. But we can do hard things.”
For the latest coronavirus news and updates, follow along at https://news.yahoo.com/coronavirus. According to experts, people over 60 and those who are immunocompromised continue to be the most at risk. If you have questions, please reference the CDC’s and WHO’s resource guides.
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