CMS teacher in spotlight for personalized student handshakes

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Barry White, Jr., a fifth grade English teacher at Ashley Park PreK-8 School in Charlotte, has been giving each student a personalized handshake for months and has now garnered national attention from ABC News and Good Morning America.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools posted one video in October that received nearly 1 million views.

"They know when they get to the front door we do our 'good mornings,' and then it's time to go," White told ABC News of his enthusiastic greetings. "I'm always pumped up and then we start doing the moves and that brings them excitement and pumps them up for a high-energy class."

White said remembering all the different moves isn’t as tricky as one might think.

"It's muscle memory at this point," he told ABC News. "I do it so much with them. They love coming up to me and doing it. I just know the certain moves that go with certain kids because it's personalized. For example, I started a step team at the school. Some of my fifth graders I teach are on that step team and you'll notice we step a little bit in their handshakes."

An avid Cleveland Cavaliers fan, White was inspired to do the handshakes with his students after noticing his favorite basketball player, LeBron James, doing the same thing with his teammates.

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