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Bolivar R‑I opens school year with expanded literacy training, higher summer-school enrollment and strong substitute turnout
Summary
District academic leaders reported a positive start to the 2025–26 year: literacy/cohort training continues, summer-school enrollment rose, online class pass rates were high and the district hosted a large substitute-teacher training with 44 participants.
The Bolivar R‑I Board of Education received academic and program updates Aug. 21 as district leaders reported on summer-school outcomes, professional development and the first week of the new school year.
Assistant Superintendent Tim Garber said the district continues its literacy work with a Letters training (a science-of-reading literacy program) and that 25 teachers are in cohort 2 of that training. Garber also listed other professional-development offerings provided to staff over the summer, including new middle-school ELA resource training, Read 180 (reading intervention), CPI crisis-prevention training, ParentSquare rollout, IXL and conscious-discipline work.
Nut graf: District leaders said the combination of professional development and summer programming appears to have supported a strong start to the 2025–26 school year, with higher summer-school enrollment for secondary grades, improved attendance in some programs, and a record turnout for substitute-teacher training.
Summer-school figures presented by secondary coordinator Cody Gibson showed Bolivar Middle School summer enrollment near 308 this year with attendance above 80% and Bolivar High School enrollment rising from 417 in 2024 to 447 in 2025; Garber said online classes posted a 100% pass rate in the summer program. On the elementary side, Jennifer Miller reported enrollment of 365 students at the primary programs and about 273 at BIS (grades 3–5), with attendance around 76% districtwide for elementary summer school. Miller said enrichment activities and community partnerships (nutrition classes from CMH, visits to the splash pad and park) supported student engagement.
Garber also reported a substantial substitute-teacher training the week before school started: 44 participants attended, supplementing 36 substitutes already registered and ready for the year. "Our substitute teachers play a huge role in our schools," Garber said, and the training covered classroom management, emergency procedures and instructional expectations.
Ending: Superintendent and board members praised staff for preparation and early enrollment figures; administrators asked for board support in ongoing staffing, facility scheduling and long-range planning tied to the district's CSIP priorities (quality Tier 1 instruction and positive, safe learning environments).
