Wichita teacher’s choice of last day of school clothing makes national news

A Wichita kindergarten teacher — who moonlights as the owner of Sweetz N Treatz Bakery in Delano — has made national headlines for her inventive last-day-of-school outfit.

Ashley Hicks, who teaches at Enterprise Elementary School, was featured by “Good Morning America” on Tuesday because of a dress she wore on her final day with her kindergarten class this year.

It was an old white dress Hicks found in her closet, she said, and she decided it would be fun to let her students decorate it with fabric markers, promising that she’d wear it when they were done.

She posted photos of herself, front and back, wearing the dress, which is covered with colorful drawings of rainbows, trees and people with giant heads and stick bodies, and it caught the attention of many people, including producers for the national ABC morning show.

They posted the story Tuesday evening on their website with the headline, “Instead of a yearbook, this teacher had her whole kindergarten class sign her dress.”

“They absolutely loved it,” Hicks said of her students. “And it was kind of like a writing activity, too.”

Hicks said the show called and interviewed her early this week, and she had to sign lots of releases before they published the story.

The whole adventure has been so fun, Hicks said, that she’s planning to bring a white dress every year for her kids to sign. She also promised the 2018-2019 class that she’d hold onto the dress until they were done with high school and wear it to their graduation.

Last May, Hicks took over the former Sugar Sisters spot at 917 W. Douglas, and she’s been selling her cupcakes, cookies and muffins there ever since.

This isn’t her first time in the national spotlight. In June, she was featured in a Netflix baking show called “Sugar Rush.”