At the start of the school year, life skills teacher Tiffany Absher started a mail delivery program for teachers, which involves her students. Typically, teachers get their mail themselves in the morning, but the life skills students have changed that.

“I personally never make it a priority to retrieve the mail from my mailbox every morning,” Absher said. “I am too busy prepping for the school day. Therefore, this service helps eliminate that need while also helping life skills students gain skills to help them in the future.”

This is Absher’s first year teaching at GIbson Southern, but she used her previous experience at Castle High School to run the program. 

“I helped facilitate this program during my time in life skills at Castle,” Absher said. “The students always enjoyed navigating the building and seeing other parts of the school.”

While the program benefits teachers, it also has benefits for the life skills students who are part of it.

“I enjoy saying ‘hi’ to the teachers,” senior Elizabeth Clutter said. “I also find it entertaining.”

Clutter enjoys sorting and delivering the mail not only for her own sake but also for the added benefit teachers receive. 

“[I’ve delivered the mail] since the beginning of the school year,” Clutter said. “It allows us to save teachers personal time so they don’t have to check their own mail.”

While it’s not a mandatory program, about 25 faculty members at Gibson Southern receive their mail through the program. 

“Having my mail delivered is just one less thing I have to think about throughout the day,” math and science teacher Kasey Knaebel said. “It doesn’t seem like it’s a huge thing, but it is a convenient aspect when so many other things are going on right now that require my attention.”

During third period, teachers and aides get the mail from the staff mail room and assist students with the rest of the process.

“First an aide goes to the mailroom to collect the mail,” Clutter said. “Then, we sort the mail by teacher’s names. Then, we deliver the mail room by room.”

Teachers who opted into the program no longer have to visit their mailbox, and see the benefits for both themselves and the Life Skills students.

“The Life Skills kids are getting to get out, learn skills of hand delivery and organization and see people around the school,” Knaebel said. “They are helping out the teachers which is a benefit for both parties. I always think there is a need for people to learn skills, help out others, and be in the receiving end of a kind act.”