300 dads dine with students at Petersburg elementary school

RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - A Petersburg elementary school put a spin on a popular event for moms, instead welcoming in fathers Tuesday morning.

It’s part of the school division’s inaugural ‘Dining with Dad’ event. About 300 fathers turned up for the event at Walnut Hill.

In addition to sharing a Chick-fil-A breakfast with students, these dads helped distribute books, worksheets, and other resources so they can learn and bond with their kids at the same time.

Walnut Hill Principal Mandelia Fisher said the idea is a spinoff of the Moms with Muffin’s event last year at the school.

“To actually have almost 300 come today come into our school building today, just set the tone and changed the stereotype for what others perceive in the real world,” Fisher said. “Those who actually came today sent a positive message.”

Fisher said seeing the surprise on the students’ faces was the best part, because many of them had no idea that their dad was coming to school,

“We had a couple of surprised students as well,” Fisher said. “The teachers kept it a secret and so when those fathers came they were like, ‘Oh my God! My father is here’. So that was definitely a highlight.”

Assistant Principal Padraic Hampton said the event also served as a way to dismiss stereotypes and give dads an opportunity to be more involved in their kid’s education.

“The fathers were able to communicate with each other, build those relationships with each other, talk about life, talk about work, talk about children,” he said. “Hopefully we will be able to build a network of fathers so that they are able to support each other here at Walnut Hill as well.”

School officials are planning another event will be at beginning of next year in addition to organizing a ‘Dinner with Dads " to cater to those who couldn’t get off work Tuesday.