Sunrise Elementary students, staff showcase leadership and mentorship at Enumclaw School Board meeting

Sunrise Elementary students, teachers and administrators presented examples of student leadership and a structured mentorship program to the Enumclaw School District Board on May 18, highlighting improvements in student well-being and-schoolwide interventions.

Principal (Ms. Strand) opened the presentation describing the school's theme "growing together" and said staff prioritized listening, learning and building relationships this year. She reported that the school used HOPE and school-belonging surveys to identify students needing added support; "In the fall for our HOPE survey, we were at about 68%" she said, and in winter "72 percent of students said they had a high sense of belonging." The school described targeted interventions and grade-level data reviews tied to its MTSS process.

Students and staff described the Sunrise Leadership Group, which had 48 fourth- and fifth-graders this year. Morgan Tran, advisor for the leadership group, said students gave up lunch and free time to run service projects such as toy and food drives and a cereal-box donation campaign for a local food bank. Melissa Petrowski, Sunrise's resource teacher, described a structured mentorship program that paired student mentors with younger peers for reading and recess support; she highlighted student mentors Bodie and Carter for sustained, punctual participation and positive outcomes.

Superintendent Jill Burns thanked students and staff and recognized a student representative, Micaiah, for two years of service to the district. The board applauded the presentation and the district noted upcoming community events tied to student experiences.

The presentation offered board members qualitative and quantitative evidence that the school's focus on student belonging and targeted interventions contributed to measurable gains, with staff outlining next steps to sustain and scale successful practices.