Springfield’s students are now on vacation. At Brightwood Elementary School faculty sent students off to their summer break with a boost of confidence after participating in a “spirit tunnel” made up of their peers. The idea was inspired by "The Jennifer Hudson Show," which also featured the school on its national program.
The 5th grade class lines up in two columns, grinning and giggling, to create a tunnel of sorts. They go on to sing a version of "Good Day" by Greg Street and the Nappy Roots remixed by Brightwood Elementary principal Danielle Delgado.
“Students are able to either walk through the tunnel, dance through the tunnel, or just wave through the tunnel, give high fives through the tunnel. It's an opportunity to be unique. It's an opportunity to cheer each other on and support each other,” Delgado said.
Delgado borrowed the idea from "The Jennifer Hudson Show," a national talk show in its third season. Before guests appear on a segment, the staff will line up against the wall, behind-the-scenes, and sing a remix of a popular song to fit their name in it.
NPR’s culture writer Shamira Ibrahim said this backstage ritual started out as a way to “hype up Hudson herself before the tapings, and then eventually it morphed into a way to hype up the guests.”
Brightwood’s spirit tunnel was even recognized by Jennifer Hudson on her show as a way to honor longtime mentor and teacher, Sheree Nolley, a now-retired teacher from Springfield Public Schools.
“You want to feel like you're significant in your environment,” Nolley said. “You want to feel like you belong to the community. That’s the biggest thing we value, we want you to be engaged and have some fun…things like the spirit tunnel make that happen. It's powerful and it's easy.”
Fifth grade reading teacher, Katelyn Loughlin, said it was a surreal experience to see her kids on the show.
“We do this every day,” Loughlin said. “We don't think anything of it. So sometimes when it's shown on a national level, you're like, 'oh wow, we did that. Okay.' It's just nice to be recognized.”
Loughlin said her favorite part about the spirit tunnel is seeing how the kids change from the beginning to the end of the year with the exercise.
“I think the true beauty in it is seeing all the shy ones and the nervous ones in the beginning of the year, who by the end of the year are doing it like no problem. And then when, like the kindergartens and first graders get to go through, the fifth graders act like they have never been nervous a day in their lives. They really come out of their shell and it's just amazing to see that confidence build throughout,” Loughlin said.
Principal Delgado said the ups and downs of life outside of school can be challenging for staff and students, but she says, she wants to create a supportive environment for them.
“What I can control is everyone's experience while they're here,” Delgado said. “And with all my might and everything that I got, I am going to make sure that it is a positive, happy, motivating, uplifting, strengthening experience for every person that steps through in this building.”
