Hallway hugs among top perks of spending their days together
Nov. 16, 2023—Chenoweth Elementary School Nurse Tammy Gordon says her school is a special place where everyone feels like family, which perhaps isn’t that surprising considering she sees her daughter and granddaughters at work every day.
Gordon’s daughter Britni Gray is an Exceptional Child Education instructional assistant at Chenoweth, and Gray’s two daughters also attend the school.
From hallway hugs to afterschool hangs, Gordon and Gray say it’s a unique blessing to work and learn with three generations of family members in the same building.
“Chenoweth is amazing,” Gordon said. “Everybody here treats you like family, and it’s very community oriented. We’re happy to be here together.”
Gray’s kindergarten daughter Violette starts most mornings eating breakfast in her mom’s classroom and ends most days hanging with her grandma in the nurse’s office, a routine she said she loves.
Her older sister, second grader Scarlette, said one of her favorite parts of having her family around are the hallway hugs.
“Anytime I see Violette, I get out of line so we can hug each other,” Scarlette said.
Gray agreed, midday squeezes are one of the best parts of having everyone under one roof.
“If I’m coming down the hallway and I see them, I grab them for a hug,” Gray said.
Gordon and Gray worked together previously at a pharmacy and said they enjoy the perks of being together. For Gray, that often includes a lunch packed by her mom.
“I usually get a text, “what’s for lunch,” Gordon said. “Anything I have, she has, so if I have a packed lunch, she gets some of it. If we go out, she gets some of it.”
Being together in the same school also makes it convenient for Gordon and Gray to enjoy those special moments with Violette and Scarlette, like field trips and school celebrations.
When the workday runs long for their mom, Violette and Scarlette get to spend quality time with their grandma after school. If one of the girls feels bad during school, they get the care of not just a nurse, but their loving grandma.
“If I get hurt I can go to grandma,” Violette said. “It’s good.”