James Gibson fifth-grade teachers Gail Hughes and Leah Hellander pass out orders of food during ‘McEducator’s Night’ Oct. 28 at the McDonald’s restaurant located at the corner of Green Valley Parkway and Warm Springs Road.
Thursday, Nov. 6, 2008 | midnight
"Number 293!" Gail Hughes and Leah Hellander yelled together Oct. 28, combining their voices to be better heard across the crowded McDonald's. Getting through the dozens of patrons seemed an impossibility.
Hughes and Hellander aren't McDonald's employees, but the two James Gibson Elementary School teachers traded in their grading books for aprons that evening to raise money for the school.
Several of Gibson's educators agreed to work a couple hours at McDonald's, 2217 N. Green Valley Parkway, doing everything but cooking in an effort to raise money for the fifth grade end-of-year celebration.
"It's crazy, having the whole school at McDonald's in one night," parent Leah Scherr said while eating with her children, Michael, 10, and Kenny, 8.
The McDonald's fundraiser — called McEducator's Night — is held twice a year, Ginny Zeitler, fifth grade organizer, said. The school has done it several years in a row, and each time it's nonstop from 5 to 7 p.m., she said.
Gibson earned 20 percent of sales from that two-hour period, which normally amounts to about $500, Zeitler said.
Despite the long lines inside the store and in the drive-through and lack of parking around the restaurant, customers greeted each other with smiles and laughter while they waited for their food.
While the funds are earmarked for the fifth grade celebration, they normally end up benefiting the entire school, Zeitler said, so it's easy to get parents and children from all grades involved. For example, previous McEducator's Nights have funded benches and umbrellas for students, she said.
Most of the people working were fifth grade teachers, though a few administrators and other teachers were also behind the counter or patrolling the lounge.
Marci McLeod was one of them. A first grade teacher, she felt it was her duty to be there.
"My daughter is in fifth grade, so I'm pulling double duty," she said.
Frances Vanderploeg can be reached at 990-2660 or [email protected].
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