Grant Elementary principal highlights drop in chronic absenteeism, campus upgrades and project-based learning gains

Christian Feurer, principal of Grant Elementary, presented the school’s 2025–26 annual update and credited sustained community engagement and curriculum shifts for recent gains. “We successfully reclassified eight of our multilingual learners over the year,” Feurer said, and he noted students’ extracurricular achievements — including math Olympiad placings — as evidence of academic momentum.

Feurer described project‑based learning as a core instructional strategy at Grant, citing a year‑three milestone and a partnership with SMASH that he said has helped teachers collaborate across the district. He also highlighted facilities work: a historic garden completed in March, a library media center and innovation lab slated for completion in July, and a new classroom building expected in January 2027 that will add six classrooms and an open‑air second‑floor learning deck. On attendance, Feurer said chronic absenteeism has fallen “from a high of 20 percent during the post‑pandemic 2022–23 school year down to 8.5 percent this current year,” and described targeted interventions — community messaging, SART/SARB conferences and on‑time arrival contracts — used to improve daily attendance.

The board asked clarifying questions about drivers of absence and implementation of the attendance contracts; Feurer and the board agreed to continue monitoring results as the district rolls out new math curriculum and staff training.