Thornton Fractional South administrators delivers essential, encouragement to students daily

LANSING Ill. (WLS) -- For some school administrators, remote learning has added mileage to their cars as they personally deliver what students need to learn from home.

At Thornton Fractional South High School in Lansing, this month's deliveries to students mark a milestone.

One cold morning's deliveries included a t-shirt dropped off a Janee Compton's house. The senior at TF South had no idea her principal and administrators would turn up at her front door.

"What schools did you get accepted to?" asked Mr. Richardson.

"I got accepted to Bradley, and I got accepted to Bell State, and I got accepted to Iowa Wesleyan University and others... I can't remembered," she answered.

Later, during AP English class, Janee announced her pick, declaring "I'm going to Mizzou." She said it hasn't been a tough school year; E-learning just takes will power.

"I wouldn't say it's tough because it's more like self-motivation," Compton said.

From there it was onto the next delivery, trying to figure out what shirt size Rahziel Williams might be. With a 4.0 GPA, he also has his pick of colleges, including Western Michigan, Michigan State, Louisiana State and University of Louisville. He's decided to go to Western Michigan on a full ride scholarship.

Williams also said E-learning hasn't been a problem.

"I don't think it was tough at all," he said. "You just put your mind in the right place and do what you gotta do."

Library books are part of Mr. Richardson's daily deliveries, as well as student lunches and WiFi hotspots; much-needed help, especially when multiple children are learning remote under one roof.

"Some of the kids are really struggling, but it's nice to see the kids really excelling," he said. "There's so much more to high school than just academics. It's about them seeing their friends each and every day. That encourages some kids to wake up and go."

So to keep them connected, Mr. Richardson collects videos in his spare time and pieces them together for the Monday school announcements. He also records his visits with college-bound seniors when he surprises them at their door.

Taryn Wilson is top five, and was offered nearly $190,000 in scholarships. She credited the support she received for her success.

"We've managed to come through," said her mother Patrice Rolle. "She's got accepted to every school she applied for, so I couldn't be any prouder."

Mr. Richardson is worried he may not be able to make all his t-shirt deliveries because of all the acceptance letters he's now getting. It's a good problem to have.

TF South is planning a virtual signing ceremony to celebrate all college-bound seniors on May 5.