Jan. 8—While Jimmy Carter was lying in state on Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol, students at Albuquerque’s Jimmy Carter Middle School honored him by writing letters of kindness to a person of choice in the school, preferably including a quote from Carter.
On Thursday, the day of Carter’s state funeral in Washington, D.C., before being laid to rest in Plains, Georgia, Jimmy Carter Middle School teachers are expected to show short videos from jimmycartertribute.org about the peanut farmer-turned-governor, president and humanitarian. Brief classroom discussion about the former president could follow.
“It is a profound honor for our school to bear the name of Jimmy Carter,” Jimmy Carter Middle School Principal Michelle Velasquez told the Journal. “President Jimmy Carter lived an amazing life and left an extraordinary legacy. His life exemplified service, integrity, and a commitment to making the world a better place. Given that our school is named after him, we wanted to honor that legacy by having our staff and students participate in meaningful activities throughout the week.”
Surely, the late former president might have been flashing his famous toothy grin from the heavens on Wednesday as students took on the assignment, some drawing hearts on their missives inspired by a life lived in service of others.
Letters of kindness
Jean Marie Baca Villa, dean of students at Jimmy Carter Middle School, led a group of almost two dozen eighth graders through activities related to Carter, concluding with the letters to anyone in the school who they believe needs to be shown appreciation or encouragement.
Baca Villa, who was born during the Carter Administration, talked about the former president’s work, including building homes with Habitat for Humanity. She then showed students a short video about Carter’s life, which included an interview with the man himself.
The video prompted a discussion among the students of the one word that came to mind to describe the 39th president. Kind, courageous, noble and humble were a few suggestions.
“Those are some great words; very descriptive,” Baca Villa told her students.
In honor of Carter’s life, Baca Villa asked students to write letters of kindness — and she started the activity by providing her own.
The letter was addressed to the middle school’s cafeteria staff, whom Baca Villa said are appreciated for “making our community better, just like Jimmy Carter did for the world.”
“Every day, you work hard to provide a nutritious meal for students,” Baca Villa said in part. “This is such an important job because it is hard to learn when you are hungry.”
She closed the letter with a quote from Carter, who said he thought “the things that mattered were the things that you could see,” but later in life he said he realized “the things you can’t see,” such as one’s inner purpose, matter more.
The students turned in their letters, written in a drawing of a heart-shaped box, before moving to their next class period.
Students Dania Robellada and Alexa Alvarez said in an interview that they didn’t know much about Carter before this week, except that he was president and died at 100. They agreed he was a giving man who helped a lot of people — and hoped to live a long life as he did.
Robellada said she wrote a letter to the middle school’s librarian thanking her for creating “a safe environment” and being a person students can trust. Alvarez wrote to Baca Villa for helping students in any situation.
In an interview following the class assignment, Baca Villa said it was “incredibly meaningful” to receive a letter of kindness.
“We’re here to make that connection with students and hopefully impact their lives,” she said.
A history rooted in education
Carter, who served as president from 1977 to 1981, died Dec. 29, making him the longest-living president in American history. He also holds the distinction within Albuquerque Public Schools of being the only living president to have had a school within the district named after him. Many APS middle schools are named after U.S. presidents.
The school’s activities coincided with Carter’s funeral arrangements in his home state of Georgia and the nation’s capital, culminating in a national day of mourning on Thursday.
The middle school on the city’s West Side opened in August 2000, a year after Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, were awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by then-President Bill Clinton. The following December, one of Carter’s sons, Chip, came to Albuquerque to help dedicate the school, reading a statement from the former president, according to a Journal report at the time.
Chip said his father felt the naming of the middle school after him was particularly significant since his first elected office was as a school board member in Sumpter County, Georgia.
The middle school honored Carter every day this week during morning announcements, which included sharingfacts about Carter’s life, his accomplishments as president and his humanitarian work through the Carter Center. The announcements also called on students to be kind to someone else and think about ways they can make a difference in the community.