Beattie students enjoy winning moments at walkathon

September 29, 2023

Beattie Elementary School students turned walking into a winning activity Sept. 26 when they enjoyed splashes of sunshine outside.

Hundreds of students, staff and area residents took part in the third-annual Beattie Walkathon. Students raised more than $26,000 for the Beattie Parent-Teacher Organization in the three weeks leading up to the event. They celebrated their success with smiles throughout the morning and early afternoon.

Beattie staff members Maile Mekelburg, Rachel Fyfe and Lindsey Flori-Plummer all helped organize the walkathon. All three said they were happy with the large amount of participation from the community.

“This is one of my favorite days of the year,” Fyfe said. “It’s great to see students being active and getting a chance to celebrate what they’ve done for our school. They’ve worked really hard to make our goal, so this is such a great thing.”

Members of the Nebraska Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (NCDHH) also joined Beattie students for International Deaf Awareness Week recognition. Student-athletes from Lincoln Southwest High School, Union College and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln also visited Beattie during the day.

“Just seeing the joy on all of the kids’ faces makes it all worth it,” Mekelburg said. “This is an awesome day. It’s a lot of fun to see everyone here.”

Flori-Plummer is a teacher of the deaf. Beattie also has sign-language interpreters who support children with classroom learning each day. She felt students would be encouraged and inspired by seeing role models who are either deaf or hard of hearing at the walkathon.

“It’s super important,” Flori-Plummer said. “They don’t often meet adults who are either deaf or hard of hearing at school, so this is a great opportunity for them. It shows them that these adults are successful in everything they do, and our students can be too. They’re great examples for all of our students.”

Kim Davis became one of those role models when she walked in Beattie’s front entrance. Davis is the lead advocacy specialist at the NCDHH and has championed for the deaf and hard-of-hearing community for decades. The Council Bluffs, Iowa, native joined the NCDHH in August 2012 after spending 11 years at the Missouri Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

Davis said she was impressed by the number of sign-language interpreters at Beattie. The willingness of interpreters to learn the language has allowed students to participate in activities such as the walkathon. They have also helped students keep pace with their classmates in core subjects such as reading, math, science and social studies.

“Seeing this many people who know ASL (American Sign Language) is really nice,” Davis said. “It means that these students are getting a really good education and are learning from teachers who are caring about them.”

Davis said she was happy to watch students who are deaf and hard of hearing display wide grins at the walkathon. They shared high-fives with their classmates and teachers, ran under tents filled with blowing bubbles and smiled with a staff member dressed up as the Beattie Bobcat.

“This is a lot of fun,” Davis said. “I’m very honored that the school invited us to come here and be a part of this. Not only is this something that’s fun for all of the students at school, but it’s also good exposure for students who are deaf and hard-of-hearing. It shows everyone that they are equal and important members of the community.”

Beattie students joined Fyfe for instructions and grade-level group photos before beginning their walkathons. They filed out of the gym and started a route that went around the school’s perimeter several times. The PTO provided every student with a duffel bag, banana, water bottle and bag of popcorn after they crossed the finish line.

Fyfe said students set a goal of $25,000 before starting their fundraising campaign in early September. Mekelburg and Fyfe told them they would camp in a tent outside school on Sept. 28 if they reached that mark. They began preparing for their Beattie camping adventures after students surpassed that milestone on Sept. 23.

The PTO will use the money to provide Beattie students with educational field trips during the year. The group will also sponsor community events such as Family Fall Fun Night and Grandparents Night at school.

Fyfe felt the walkathon was successful on many levels. She said it gave the entire Beattie community a chance to experience winning moments together.

“The kids have done such a good job with this,” Fyfe said. “I love seeing this. It’s a great way to celebrate all of their hard work.”

Check out some highlights from this year's walkathon below.

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