Centennial students tell Richfield School Board how specialist classes boost reading and math

At the Richfield School Board meeting on Feb. 2, a group of fifth graders from Centennial Elementary explained how the school’s daily specialist classes—media (library), art, music and physical education—support the district’s reading and math goals.

"In our daily school schedule, we have one hour of specialist classes each day," said Vivi, a fifth grader from Centennial, describing library activities that include book sharing, checkouts and author study. "February is I Love to Read month, so we will be doing lots of fun reading activities in our classrooms and in the library." Principal Colleen Mahoney introduced the students and framed the presentation around linking specialists to classroom learning.

Other students gave concrete examples. Brianna said the art curriculum teaches vocabulary such as "collage, sculpture and form," asks students to read about artists and uses measurement tools—rulers and stencils—that reinforce math skills. Jirlin said music lessons use lyric reading and music history to support literacy and explained that fractions are taught through note values and counting measures. Jenna described how PE connects to math—measuring the gym to compute how many laps equal a mile and learning bowling scoring that requires mental arithmetic; she reported that it took roughly 26.4 trips around the gym to equal one mile.

Board members thanked the students for presenting and asked clarifying questions about vocabulary and activities. Chair Eric Carter led applause for the group, and members encouraged continued student involvement in district conversations. The presentation preceded the superintendent’s midyear update on the district’s strategic "vision cards."