Last week was no different as Darius and his mom Daphne, went about their regular routine.

They got ready for school and work, hopped in the car and headed to pick up Darius’ breakfast before mom dropped him off at Cleveland Elementary.

The clerk at Kelly’s handed Darius his early bird special in a paper bag and minutes later, he was in front of school.

The fourth-grade student kissed mom goodbye.

Sitting in his seat in Ms. Doviak’s classroom, Darius couldn’t wait to take his first sip of blue juice and nibble of warm egg.

He reached into the bag.

"Stuff started coming out," Darius said.

But it wasn’t anything he was interested in.

Instead of pulling out some food, Darius had about $700 in cash in his hands.

"I first thought to return it. My mom, dad and brother Joseph always said to return stuff and never keep it," Darius said.

So that’s what Darius did.

He went up to Ms. Doviak and told her what he had.

"Ms. Doviak asked him what they should do," said Darius’ mother, Daphne Kirkland.

"He said it wasn’t his money and they both went to Principal Brown."

Principal Michael Brown called the police and Darius called his mom.

Darius was seemingly focused only on one thing — how hungry he was. "I didn’t get my sandwich this morning mom," he said.

Later, when asked why he returned the money instead of keeping it, Darius said "cause it’s the right thing to do."

Darius went about his school day as if it were the ordinary Wednesday it started out to be.

That afternoon, Principal Brown had an announcement to make — the scheduled afternoon assembly was to begin at 1:45 p.m.

Students lined up in rows on the gym floor, one by one. Each student came up to the stage and got a certificate for academic achievement.

After hundreds of students names were called, Principal Brown stopped.

He said he had a very special award.

Brown told the students that one of their classmates found money and the only thing that he said was that he got "gypped" on a sandwich.

Students laughed out loud.

Darius’ name was announced and he hurriedly walked up the stage, amidst the mocking.

Silence fell among the students.

Brown told the other students why Darius was on the stage. "We couldn’t see a better example than Darius immediately turning the money over," he said.

The students applauded.

"He’s Cleveland’s Most Honest Whiz kid," Brown said, handing Darius the award.

"Here we teach academic pursuits but also positive character. Darius is a fine example of what we teach. Honesty, caring and making sure that not only do you say something is not yours but you make sure it gets back to the person it belongs to," Brown said.

Daphne credits the school for influencing Darius’ decision.

"We talked about if he ever found something he should come to me, a teacher, a principal or someone of authority," Daphne said. "When kids trust their teachers, they know in their hearts to do the right thing."

In the end, Darius Adams did end up getting his egg and cheese sandwich. A police officer brought him one.

With his belly full, Darius left school that day like he would any other, with the exception of one thing – he was now called the most honest kid at Cleveland Elementary.