A brand-new pair of shoes made one Nebraska teacher break down in tears.
Approximately two weeks ago, a pair of basketball shoes owned by Logan Fontenelle Middle School teacher Trey Payne were stolen from his classroom.
On Jan. 28, his class presented him with a replacement pair after pooling their money together, a post to Bellevue Public Schools’ official Facebook page reads.
In touching video footage shared by the school, Payne can be seen being given a red gift bag.
He reads the card before looking inside the bag and pulling out a brown shoe box, containing a pair of Nike Zoom KD12s.
“I hope this isn’t shoes, guys,” Payne, visibly emotional, says in the video.
“Oh my. Are you serious?”
The teacher removes his glasses, covers his face, and begins to cry.
Students in the background of the video can be heard getting emotional, too, over a teacher they clearly value very much. Soon after, his students rush to give him a group hug.
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“It’s more than a pair of shoes. It’s about doing things to build everyone up around you,” Payne said in a statement shared by the school.
“I try to show my kids this and I think the lesson has sunk in for many, in turn, reaffirming my purpose and my ideals.”
Payne is an 8th-grade teacher and basketball coach at the school, Fox29 reports.
One of Payne’s students, Emma Mitchell, shared the sweet moment on Twitter, writing: “My favourite teacher Mr. Payne got his shoes stolen, so me and a few classmates put together our money and bought him a brand-new pair!”
A mother to one of the students who chipped in told Fox 5 that “he would do anything for any of his students.”
“Turns out,” she said, “they would do the same for him.”
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