Students skip school to sing outside dying teacher's home

Students arrived at their beloved teacher's home to sing him a special song. (KTVU)

More than 400 students and faculty from a Tennessee school skipped class last week to put on a special concert in support of a beloved teacher battling an aggressive form of cancer. Video of Christ Presbyterian Academy teacher Ben Ellis watching the students outside of his home window quickly went viral after being shared by country superstar Tim McGraw.

The moving tribute was organized after word had reached students that the 50-year-old Ellis had decided to stop treatment, KTVU reported. Classes at the college-preparatory school were canceled and buses were ordered to shuttle students to his home. Ellis, a father of five, can be seen in the video watching and singing along with the students.

Ellis died Friday, according to a statement from the school, but not before telling a local news outlet that the students’ tribute to him made him feel like he “was not alone.”

The video has amassed more than 32 million views after being posted by McGraw September 10.