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Swayze reports enrollment gains; teacher launches pollinator-pathway project
Summary
Swayze Elementary's principal reported higher enrollment, including about 10 more kindergarten students than last year, and detailed a classroom-driven pollinator pathway to protect milkweed and support monarchs and classroom science.
Swayze Elementary Principal Ron (first name not given) reported increases in enrollment and described a staff-led pollinator-pathway project that aims to preserve milkweed and create outdoor learning opportunities.
The principal told the board the school had "10 more kindergartners than we had last year," bringing kindergarten enrollment to about 45 students and adding 14 new students across grades 1–5. The school has hired a new first-grade teacher and filled several paraprofessional and part-time positions; a contracted speech provider will be on site three days a week to cover a vacancy.
Teacher Wilhelmina Bradley organized the pollinator-pathway work after grounds cleaning removed patchy milkweed used in classroom life-cycle units. The principal said Bradley “created the spreadsheet” and that staff have posted signs in courtyards and other areas to protect caterpillars and preserve habitat for monarch butterflies, hummingbirds and pollinators. Board members praised the effort and suggested the school feature the project in the district newsletter; the principal said he would coordinate newsletter copy.
Discussion versus decision: the principal’s enrollment report and the pollinator project are informational; no board policy or funding decision was made at the meeting.
What comes next: the school will continue outreach to new families, include event dates in newsletters and share the pollinator-pathway materials with other classrooms. Board members volunteered to support outreach and suggested including the project in the next newsletter.
