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Emmons students lead pledge, showcase grounds‑crew and career programs
Summary
Students from Emmons Elementary led the Pledge of Allegiance and presented the school’s grounds‑crew after‑school program. Board members heard additional remarks about school culture, student leadership and Junior Achievement/BizTown programming.
Emmons Elementary students opened the School City of Mishawaka board meeting on Nov. 5 by leading the Pledge of Allegiance and presenting highlights of the school’s grounds‑crew after‑school program.
School leaders described the grounds crew as a weekly after‑school club that helps keep the grounds and building clean, provides gardening and custodial tasks, and builds leadership skills. Several students spoke to the board about why they joined the program, citing pride in keeping the school clean, opportunities to work outside and time with friends. Administration said roughly 30 students participate each Thursday and that the program helps teach responsibility and leadership.
Emmons staff also described broader building culture initiatives, including community partnerships, attendance incentives, daily student jobs and WIG boards that track attendance and i‑Ready minutes. School leaders credited a positive culture with higher attendance, improved i‑Ready results and lower office discipline referrals. The principal and other staff praised long‑term staff retention — the school reported no teacher replacements in the past four years — as evidence of a positive work environment.
Separately, the board heard an impact report from Junior Achievement (JA) and a sixth‑grade teacher who described the BizTown experiential program. JA provides hands‑on lessons on careers, community and financial literacy; BizTown pairs classroom learning with a full‑day simulated town where students take on jobs, manage finances and run businesses. The district said it will expand JA JobSpark to ninth grade and align programming with college‑and‑career navigation requirements.
Provenance (transcript evidence): topicintro: 00:02:22 "Set this up for me. Thank you, president Parks... We're excited to have you guys in our building..."; topfinish: 00:35:36 "...we are going to make sure that this aligns with the Department of Edge college and career navigation requirements..."
