Charles Kelley Elementary adopts month-by-month —passport— as school closes; staff praise summer renovations

A teacher at Charles Kelley Elementary opened the meeting by saying, "Our school is closing this year, so it's important to make sure that we highlight all the positives" and outlined a plan of activities for students during the school—s final year.

Teachers and students have developed a month-by-month "passport" booklet of prompts and activities intended to help children process the closure and celebrate the school community. "Miss Williams was really great in being really proactive," one speaker said, describing how staff proposed the passport to create "our last great adventure together." Volunteer teachers, led in design by Miss Wegler and Christina Roberts, turned those ideas into a printed brochure meant for grades 1–5.

The passport includes space for students to record their name, grade, teacher and a self-portrait, and monthly prompts drawn from the book "What the Rogue Said," a title recommended by Kayla Kelly, a first-grade teacher. Speakers said the prompts are sequenced through the year (for example, goals in September and worries in October) and will be reinforced with art activities and writing exercises.

Students will carry the passport to school events and receive stamps for participation, culminating in a final stamp when fifth-graders move on to middle school. "Us fifth grade, we get our passport stamped when we go to middle school to show that we already have a fully 5 years in the Charles Kelley Elementary School," a fifth-grade student said.

Speakers also recounted the physical and logistical work surrounding the closure. Staff said they first learned about the closure a few months before the last school year ended and that administrators provided packing materials (boxes, tape, markers). Teachers estimated packing roughly 30–40 boxes of curriculum materials per classroom.

Several speakers described poor pre-renovation conditions — mismatched desks, crusty gym and classroom floors with embedded wax and debris — and said the district completed an intensive summer renovation to replace floors, remove old desks and upgrade furniture. "They definitely noticed it as soon as they walked into the school where they were like, something's different around here," one speaker said.

Teachers and staff praised new adjustable desks and renovated gym and cafeteria floors, noting the improvements helped make assemblies and family events feel more polished. At the same time, some students voiced nervousness about keeping the new spaces clean and cared for.

Rather than proposing a formal vote or policy change at this meeting, staff focused on student supports, memory-making and practical details for the closure year. The passport and the renovations were presented as complementary efforts to help students, families and staff navigate the transition.

The school community plans to use the passport and continued classroom activities through the end of the year; there was no formal action taken at the meeting.