NEWARK — From Superman to Thor, in a time when we could all use a superhero, New Jersey art teacher and football coach Timothy Carr has transformed into one on Tiktok every day.
He does it all to keep his students at the Avon Avenue Elementary School in Newark engaged. In 2020, when remote learning started, his students just weren’t showing up to class.
“When we first made the transition, I had no students,” Carr said. “I would maybe be at one student”
Unlike other school districts that have implemented hybrid learning, Newark schools have been fully remote since the beginning of the pandemic, because the city of Newark was one of the hardest hit by the virus. It’s caused many students — particularly younger kids — to lose interest in their classes, but Mr. Carr’s videos have motivated his students to show up.
“Now it’s full class.”
Daveion Harriett is a 5th grader in Mr. Carr’s art class.
“Mr. Carr’s class is fun cause we get to watch Tiktok videos,” he said.
Some of his students have even started dressing up as superheroes. Sometimes he teaches in full costume.
Mr. Carr has a track record for motivating his students. In 2019, we featured the flag football team he coaches at the school, where he helped team members improve their grades and pushed them to show up to class, which boosted the school’s attendance rate.
“This is my passion,” he said. “My classroom is my second home for over 20 years.”
