Gwendolyn Brooks Elementary speakers describe school history, traditions and PTA role

Speakers identified themselves as staff members, teachers, students and the PTA president at Gwendolyn Brooks Elementary School in Indian Prairie CUSD 204 described the school's history, traditions, community events and volunteer opportunities.

Speaker 1, a staff member at Gwendolyn Brooks Elementary School, said the school “first opened in 1995 as an elementary school servicing kindergarten through fifth grade students. We are 1 of 21 elementary schools in the Indian Prairie School District, and we are the largest elementary school in Indian Prairie.”

Student speakers described school culture and the mascot. Speaker 2, a student, said, “My school's mascot is the tiger. I think it they chose the tiger because of the fierce and showing that we won't give up, And I feel like that's what the Tiger presents.” Another student, Speaker 5, said teachers “make learning fun” by connecting difficult problems to familiar topics.

Teachers and staff described classroom goals, behavior incentives and family events. Speaker 3, a teacher, summarized a schoolwide behavior system: “1 of our traditions here at Brooks is our Tiger ticket system. So students can earn these Tiger tickets for being safe, respectful, or responsible, and they can earn prizes with those Tiger tickets as an individual student, as a whole class, as a grade level, and then even as a school, we're earning prizes.”

Staff and teachers said school goals include fostering belonging and steady academic growth. Speaker 3 added a classroom goal: “I want my students to be happy and I want them to be confident and brave. I want them to be proud of who they are and making sure that they have ownership over their education will really help them be successful.” Speaker 4, a staff member, said she values the school team: “I'm an amazing team and it's great to come in to work with them every day and be part of, you know, just something special that they're building here at Brooks.”

Speaker 6 identified herself as the PTA president and encouraged family involvement: “So I think the best way is to be a part of the PTA. I'm serving as the PTA president in my third year here. So from my perspective, it gives parents the opportunity to volunteer at all the events that we put on as the PTA.”

Speakers listed recurring community events and one planned addition. The school “kick[s] off the year with a movie night,” holds a trunk-or-treat that has run “for 10 years now,” and hosts “a large family fun fair every year” that the speaker estimated draws “easily a thousand people.” Speaker 6 said the school is planning “a multicultural fair that, that the school is gonna have.”

The speakers emphasized inclusion and student-centered learning. Speaker 1 noted the school’s namesake and mission: “Gwendolyn Brooks was a renowned poet, and she was the first African American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1950. We hope to carry on Gwendolyn Brooks' legacy here at school by fostering lifelong learners, promoting equity, and having a culture of inclusion for all students here at school.”

No formal actions, motions or votes were recorded in these transcript segments. The speakers’ remarks focused on school identity, student incentives, community events and paths for parental engagement through the PTA.