Sunrise Elementary students and staff present 'growing together' student‑leadership work

At the May 18 Enumclaw School District board meeting Sunrise Elementary staff and students presented a year‑long overview of their "growing together" theme and student leadership program.

Morgan Tran (S12), advisor for the Sunrise Leadership Group, told the board that 48 fourth‑ and fifth‑graders joined the leadership club and volunteered time for projects such as a toy drive and a food drive. Student speaker Happy Hellman (S11), a fourth grader, described teamwork, poster‑making for spirit week and helping organize large community toy donations.

Melissa Petrowski (S6), the school's resource teacher, described an intentional mentorship program that paired older students with younger classmates for reading buddies and recess support. Staff discussed the use of two annual surveys — the HOPE survey and a psychological sense of school membership measure — and reported that fall HOPE results were about 68 percent and winter sense‑of‑belonging results were about 72 percent. School leaders said they used those data to target supports, reduce referrals to special education and increase exits from special‑education services for some students.

Teachers and staff described a range of student‑led clubs (art, garden, crocheting, book clubs and soccer) and service projects that connected students to the broader Uniontown community. Board members applauded the students and staff; members asked a few light‑hearted follow‑ups about school contests and upcoming events.

The presentation was part of the communications section of the meeting and included several student speakers and staff presenters.