Students at Sanders Elementary School received a heartwarming surprise from Nate's Next Kid Up, a local organization dedicated to supporting kids in the foster care system and around the community. The event held special signifi cance as it will be one of the last ones Sanders Elementary will ever have."Well everybody is going to get to choose their own toy, is everyone excited about that?" an organizer announced to cheering students.Nate Gonzalez from Nate's Next Kid Up explained the purpose behind the visit."Also just to get the reaction but also to make them feel inspired but also care about other people as well," Gonzalez said.Sanders Elementary is one of seven schools CCISD has decided to close this coming year. Principal Dr. Marcos Aguilera spoke about how the transition has affected his students."There's a lot of anxiety around what's gonna happen next. Students have been notified on which school they're gonna be attending next school year. So they're asking lots of questions and we're trying to help them to sort of understand where they're going and what that holds for them," Aguilera said.The principal says the students' new schools will offer welcome activities to help students feel more comfortable in their new classrooms."So that they feel better about where they're going, meet some of the teachers, meet the administration of those schools, get the lay of the land, so it's not so foreign to them when they get there next year," Aguilera said.As students prepare to say their final goodbyes this coming summer, school staff will continue to host events to maintain a positive attitude."I'm very grateful. I'm grateful for being here and getting this teddy bear," one student said.Following several in-person and one virtual meeting in December and January to discuss the consolidation proposal, all staff and families received a letter Jan. 13 with an overview of the approved plan. Families and staff also had access to the School Site Locator at schoolsitelocator.com, which shows the rezoned areas when users toggle to "2026/27 Boundaries."This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.For the latest local news updates, click here, or download the KRIS 6 News App. Catch all the KRIS 6 News stories and more on our YouTube page. Subscribe today! ...read more read less