Principal Speaks Publicly After Footage Of Four Teens Surrounding Lone Elderly Man On Street Is Captured On Camera

Aug 25, 2021 by apost team

Although William Allen High School of Allentown, Pennsylvania, has suffered budget troubles over the years, a viral video from 2019 shows that members of the high school’s community are kind, model citizens.

Back in May 2019, an older man was walking down Hamilton Street, which runs through the city’s downtown center, when he started to have problems walking. Luckily, a group of four William Allen students were there to help him along the sidewalk, though eventually the students opted to call an ambulance to help the old man. 

A passerby caught the entire exchange on video, and later the clip was uploaded to Facebook where it went viral. Plenty of strangers from all over the world have taken to the internet to thank the students for their good deed, with many repeating the sentiment that the world needs more young adults like these William Allen students.

“Now the parents should be proud of these young teens. They were brought up right to show respect and compassion. May God bless them all,” Bob Bond wrote on YouTube.

“I loved what the one young man said, he said I did what anybody SHOULD do and he is absolutely right, people should be kind to one another and stop all this hate,” Vicky Townsend added on the platform. “You young people have the sweetest, kindest hearts and we need more like you in this world, thank you for what you did.”

Townsend is referring to student Jose Cerda’s response to a local news reporter’s question when asked why he helped the old man out.

"I don't think this was going to be such a big deal, we just did what anyone should do," Cerda told a local news outlet.

"A lady comes to us and she is like 'can you watch that man over there,' and we see the man in a distance," said Makayla Ward, another of the four students involved.

"We saw him walking at a steady pace for a second and then he looked like he was staggering a little bit. He was holding on to things," Cerda added.

"We went up to him, asked him did he need help. He said yeah," Lashante Smith said of the good deed.

According to Yahoo News, NBC Philadelphia later identified the man as Jim, an 88-year-old. The outlet further reported that it was one of the warmest days of the year when Jim, who was having trouble finding his way home, began to overheat.

“These are angels. These kids from Allentown have really, truly helped me,” Jim says in the original video.

Naturally, the Allentown community is proud of these four young students’ clear sense of compassion and thoughtfulness.

"It makes me proud, it makes the community proud. That's the way to lift people up, that's what we are all about," said William Allen High School Principal Shannon Mayfield in an interview with a local Allentown outlet.

Local 69 News explained that the high school has a negative reputation in the community, which is why such a story of kindness is so important. 

"There's actually good kids at Allen that you actually can depend on," Ward said.

apost.com

Apost.com readers agree. Many who read this story of everyday heroism commented how proud they were of these four students, who, despite their school’s reputation, showed themselves to be role models.

“What great souls! Thank you for your compassion and thoughtfulness! Everyone has been blessed here in more ways than one! Beautiful!!!!! Grateful!!!” Cheryl Seltzer Goodwin commented in response to the apost.com article.

Another apost.com reader shared some helpful advice, urging readers not to judge a book by its cover.

“No matter that the school has a negative history, that does not mean all that attend do not hold themselves to a higher standard. You never judge as you will always be wrong,” Anne Birkett wrote. 

According to the high school’s website, just 14 students enrolled at William Allen High School back in 1858 when it was established. The historic high school expanded in 1894, holding high school classes in a new building that is now Central Elementary school. The educational institution’s current building, a $585,034 project, was opened in 1916 with the inaugural Principal Daniel Hamm at the helm. It was at that time that the school adopted a mascot, the canary. 

“The faculty and students interested in producing literary journals developed a magazine entitled, ‘The Canary and Blue.’ Somehow, the word ‘Canary,’ denoting one of the school colors, caught on and the bird became the mascot for the high school,” the school’s website reads.

Today, the school serves nearly 3,000 “canaries” every year — many of whom go on to be model citizens like the teens from this story.

What do you think about this story? Have you ever witnessed something similar? Tell us your story, and make sure to pass this uplifting story on to others.