Clara’s Run in memory of Clara Robinson was May 7, and it was a one-mile run for George Washington Elementary School second, third and fourth grade students at the high school track.
Clara and her father, Will Robinson, who was the Durant Lady Lions basketball head coach, died in a Christmas Eve 2024 car accident in Sherman, Texas. Clara was a second grader at George Washington.
GW Principal Valerie Crabtree said the run was to remember Clara and the impact she made on the community and the school.
“Our students have been working all year long to work up to a mile and so we talk about, you know, life is very difficult and this mile is really difficult for a lot of our kids and so we talk about working through and persevering,” Crabtree said.
“This past year was really difficult on our community and our school with losing Clara and Will Robinson, but with the support of friends and community members, we’ve been able to get through that and today’s just about honoring Clara, the Robinson family and remembering her life.” Clara would have been in the third grade this year, and Crabtree said the school will continue having the run every year.
“It’s just one of the ways really our students have needed something to focus on to get through the loss of a close classmate and so we would like to continue it going forward,” Crabtree said. “Clara was also in the very first class at George Washington as a kindergarten student and so it’s something that we can do to honor her, remember her, and also a really good lesson for our kids about persevering and just going through tragedy together and coming out on the other end.”
Crabtree said it has been important for the educators to talk to the children.
“Most of us as educators, I’ve been an educator for 25 years and never really dealt with the impact that this has made on our kids,” Crabtree said. “So, it’s been important for us to let kids know that we’re all grieving and we’re going through that grief process and so this is a way that we can honor her but also work together and support each other. You’ll hear lots of our students supporting other kids. That’s what we’ve been doing for a year. We’ve been supporting each other, supporting our teachers through a challenging time.”
Crabtree said it has been very difficult, but leaning on each other and going through it helps.
“We’re learning too that we’re stronger than what we thought we were,” Crabtree said. “When this happened, the whole community was really just heartbroken and so it’s really been through our faith and through the support of each other that we’ve been able to move forward.”
Rhys Rowley, who is a third grader said, “We are running for the memory of our good friend Clara who died in a car crash.”
Rowley recalled attending Clara’s birthday parties, and they played hot potato.
Third grader Ella Henson said she was tired from the run, but also feeling sad because she misses Clara.
“We weren’t in the same classes, but I still hanged out with her a bunch at recesses, and we hanged out together at her birthday party and we were just really good friends,” Henson said. “It was really fun. We got to do a bouncy house with her, and I played tag with her, and I got into a bunch of fun stuff with her, and we did this candy stuff, and it was really fun.”
Henson said she felt energized when running and a little sad.
“So, we run for Clara,” Henson said. “Clara was a good, a really good friend and she helped the school a bunch and she was really kind to everybody, and she was just a really good friend to everybody in the school.”
