Surprise proposal: Oakland teachers get engaged in front of students and staff

OAKLAND, Calif. - Two Oakland teachers got to share a life-altering moment with the community that brought them together in love, as they got engaged in front of staff and students at their school. 

Last month, Glenview Elementary School teacher Emily Rubin was on the school patio delivering morning announcements, when she was interrupted by an eruption of cheers from the crowd. That’s when she looked over to see her boyfriend and fellow teacher Ryan Gilley coming toward her with a big colorful sign. It read, "Will you marry me?"

The cheers got even louder as Gilley took Rubin’s hand, got on bended knee and officially popped the question.

In video shared by the Oakland Unified School District, an overwhelmed Rubin was seen nodding yes, as Gilley placed the ring on her finger. She then buried her head onto Gilley’s shoulders as the two fell into an emotional embrace in front of wildly excited grade school kids.   

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Rubin, a transitional kindergarten (TK) teacher, did not miss this opportunity to teach, as she later took to the microphone again to address her young students who don’t yet know how to read, telling them what the sign said. 

"I realized all my kids were very confused, because none of them can read yet, so I had to stop and say here’s what’s happening," Rubin was quoted as saying in an OUSD news release.

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The moment would be one her TK students would not soon forget, nor one they may not have totally understood. Their reaction was priceless. "And they were like, ‘We went to a wedding today!’" Rubin shared, adding, "I had to say, ‘You did not go to a wedding, actually.’" 

Gilley, a kindergarten teacher, began in OUSD as a substitute teacher at numerous schools, including Glenview, where he eventually landed a position as a STIP (permanent single site) substitute teacher.

He and Rubin first got to know each other as friends, as Gilley would help out in Rubin’s class.

After the pandemic began, Gilley took over his own kindergarten class when a teacher there decided to retire. It was an opportunity that he "jumped at," district officials said.

The ongoing pandemic would create the environment in which Rubin’s and Gilley’s relationship would flourish, and their friendship became something more. "A month and a half into the pandemic, we started dating," Rubin said. 

The teacher noted that the relationship evolved during an otherwise isolating time in the pandemic when people were finding ways to be together by forming pods. "We figured we might as well join pods," Rubin said, adding, "Then we joined pods forever."