A Culpeper County Public Schools para-educator showed kindness and a willingness to help outside of his job in a recent encounter with a local parent in immediate need.
During a regular morning drop-off at Emerald Hill Elementary School earlier this month, a parent came through the line with a very flat tire. School staff alerted the driver that there was an issue and she attempted to contact someone to help her.
When she was unsuccessful finding help, Rodney Stewart came to the rescue.
The elementary school educator started by looking in the trunk for a spare tire, but there was none. Stewart offered to jack up the car and take the tire to get a patch.
The woman did not have money to pay for the patch, so the local school system employee said he would pay for it.
But when Stewart arrived at the tire shop, he learned the tire could not be patched, so he used his own money to purchase a new tire for the local parent. He then drove back to the school and changed out the flat tire.
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School staff shared that the driver was appreciative and wished that she had the money to pay Stewart back. The school offered to pay for the tire, but the employee was adamant that he did not want to be paid for it, according to a school system release.
Emerald Hill principal Dr. Victoria Gelbert was so moved by Stewart’s example of kindness that she felt compelled to share the story with Central Office.
“Rodney is a wonderful guy who deserves recognition for his kind heart and bright light,” the principal said. “This is the type of person Rodney is—he continues to do things out of the goodness of his heart to help anyone in need.”
Stewart, in addition to teaching, is an assistant JV football coach at Culpeper County High School, head basketball coach of the CCHS JV team and is very involved in his local church.
Stewart’s compassion, action-minded solution and his bright light became the catalyst for creation of the Culpeper County Public Schools Spotlight recognition.
Know a CCPS employee who goes beyond the daily responsibilities of their job in service to the school community? School administration wants to know about it and recognizes that great things are happening in the local schools every day. School system employees may nominate a colleague for this recognition through the CCPS Spotlight nomination form.