Northwest Side Principal Makes Good On His Word
CHICAGO (CBS) -- It took 20 rolls of duct tape but every student at St. John's Lutheran School got a chance to stick it to their principal Doug Markworth.
"Oo, owe, that hurt. Whoa that's tight," he laughed. "Don't tickle me!"
Each of St. John's students were given one piece of duct tape and lined up to place their piece in place.
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"He's really a silly man, so this is right up his alley," said Tucker Legett, a 6th grader at the school, 4949 W. Montrose.
Markworth agreed to the "taping,"if students raised more than $4,000 to help a student with a rare disease.
"One of my students, Melinda has JDM, which is a rare autoimmune disease. So the challenge was, if the students raise over 2,016 dollars, they can duct tape me to the wall," said Markworth
Earlier this year, the school held a Climb-a-thon where students and teachers collected pledges and climbed 103,260 stairs in 15 minutes to raise over $4000 for Juvenile Dermatomoyositis (JDM), well over the goal needed.
"Kids are enjoying it, it means a lot to us," said Martin Otega, Melinda's father.
Melinda was diagnosed with JDM, which affects just three children in a million. The disease is so rare that not much money is spent on research or a cure.
By the time every student had their turn, they removed the two crates he was standing on and he was indeed stuck to the wall.
"It's really fun to watch. He's really awesome and he's a lot of fun. He just loves everybody and we love him," said Melissa Zbarcea, 6th grade.
Markworth's been principal at St. John's for 22 years. He says this isn't his first wacky stunt.
"Years ago, I challenged my students to read a certain amount of books and they got to throw water balloons at me in my pajamas. This time I had a choice. It was either shave my hair or get duct taped to the wall, I choice the duct tape."
"He's really brave. He always keeps his promises," said Melinda Ortega, 11.
Markworth says the students already met another fundraising challenge earlier this year so he will be sitting on the school's roof when the weather gets warmer.
"They met that challenge first but I've been waiting for warmer temperatures. It's been a fun day
