They met two decades ago as third-graders in Louisiana, and a week before Valentine’s Day, they returned to their school for a career day program.

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But Nate Pierre was not thinking about his career when he visited Folsom Elementary School in Covington. He had a lifelong commitment in mind. After reading a very personal love story to Mindy Schayot’s third-grade class, he motioned for his girlfriend, Darcey Crawford, a physical therapist technician who was videotaping the event, to come to the front of the classroom.

Pierre then got down on one knee and proposed, in the same room where they met 16 years ago, WGNO reported.

St. Tammany Parish School District posted a video to its Facebook account Tuesday showing the surprise proposal. Pierre, who works in real estate, hatched the plan with Schayot, a family friend, and cleared it with the school's principal, the Times-Picayune reported.

As part of the plan, Schayot's students were told to boo when Pierre asked if they wanted to learn about real estate. Instead, they asked him to read a Valentine story, the Times-Picayune reported.

The plan was set, and Pierre did the rest, reading a story he wrote about his relationship with Crawford and then proposing to her.

Crawford, who began crying, said yes and kissed Pierre. The groom-to-be then high-fived the students, the newspaper reported.

The couple has not set a wedding date yet, WDSU reported.

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