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Bryant Elementary principal highlights student leadership, safety patrol and attendance efforts
Summary
At the Oct. 13 Superior School District board meeting, Bryant Elementary staff and students described fifth-grade leadership programs, a student safety patrol and steps the school is taking to improve attendance and implement a new literacy curriculum.
Jason (Principal, Bryant Elementary School) told the Superior School District Board of Education on Oct. 13 that Bryant’s fifth graders are taking leadership roles this year through morning announcements, kindergarten buddy duties and a student safety patrol.
The principal said the safety patrol — made up of volunteer fifth graders — helps with drop-off and pickup, instructs younger students when it is safe to cross, opens car doors for younger students and serves as greeters. “We prevent accidents. We teach responsibility. Community service,” one safety-patrol student told the board during the school’s presentation.
Why it matters: Board members heard that these student leadership roles contribute to a stronger school climate and fewer incident reports. School leaders said early fall data in literacy and math are ahead of last year’s starting points and that incident reports are at a record low as of mid-October.
Details: Principal Jason described other leadership structures: fifth-grade student ambassadors elected in classrooms who attend PBIS tier 1 meetings to report what is working and what needs repair; a lunch-buddy system pairing fifth graders with kindergarteners; and a small recycling crew that collects materials each morning. The school’s family engagement coordinator, Sarah Bergquist, and PTO president, Jackie Ladin, help run and sustain the programs.
On instruction, Jason said Bryant adopted a new district literacy curriculum this fall. Teachers report the curriculum is “robust” but substantial, and staff are using monthly meeting time and additional PLC (professional learning community) collaboration time to plan how to use units and sequence lessons. The principal said interventions — including Read Naturally Live and targeted RTI math time — are in place to support students not meeting benchmarks.
Attendance remains a focus. The principal outlined standard truancy protocols (letters, phone calls and meetings), added that some absences are illness or vacation early in the year, and said staff make “pulse calls” and, when necessary, attempt home visits to reconnect families with school. Board members discussed whether some families would respond better to social- or child-welfare interventions rather than law-enforcement contact; the principal said the district’s counselors and social workers coordinate supports when available.
Board follow-up and next steps: The board and staff agreed principals should continue collaborating with county resources about truancy responses. The principal said the school is also continuing family-facing attendance celebrations and postcard recognition to encourage daily attendance.
Ending: The board thanked the Bryant students and staff for the report and invited further classroom visits.
