NORTH BERGEN — Kids from the McKinley Elementary School in North Bergen got a shock last week as talk show host Ellen DeGeneres invited their teachers to a taping, and filmed the students for the segment as well.
The unexpected appearance spurred from a video students filmed in February, where they asked Ellen if she could come and read to them for Read Across America Week. Though she didn’t immediately respond, the video quickly went viral. It soon found its way to someone who worked for Ellen in New York, who got in touch with the school.
The show flew out teachers Maria Morgana and Susan Saab–who spearheaded the Read Across America video–to California for a taping, filmed last Friday. Meanwhile, back at McKinley, show producer Jeannie Kilsiewicz was preparing the students to appear on Ellen.
During the segment, Ellen and Kilsiewicz gave the school a $50,000 Walmart grant. The school will use the money to upgrade its library and media center.
On Tuesday, April 24, the school held a celebration, replaying the school’s appearance on Ellen.
Morgana–who teaches technology at the school for grades K-8, and Saab–a Title I teacher for grades 4, 5, and 6–said that the students’ drive to get a response from Ellen was a lesson in itself.
“As a teacher, you always believe in the power of students,” Saab said at the Tuesday celebration. “With hard work and dedication, you can achieve.”
“This is about no idea being too small, no idea being too big,” added Morgana. For more on the appearance, pick up this week’s edition of The North Bergen Reporter.
