At Heusner Elementary, we have 35 PRIDE Families made up of students across grade levels, supporting our warm and caring environment. On Make It Great Mondays, 18 community groups took turns welcoming students and staff before school by lining the hallways and sharing encouraging “high fives.” The largest turnout was when grandparents lined the hallways!
Our partnership with parents and guardians is thriving. Heusner’s STEM Day brought 144 families in to experience students’ projects that combined science, technology, engineering and math to create solutions to various challenges. And, the 2022 Heusner marathon resulted in 228 students completing a marathon.
And our staff are remarkable! Continuously working to better support students, they completed 12 hours of Conscious Discipline Training this past school year. All grade levels ended the school year creating projects that enhanced communication and critical thinking for students, with real-life applications. Teachers brought our community into the classroom such as students creating a mini golf course designing holes using their knowledge of area and perimeter. Another grade level chose local organizations in the community for whom they planned a snack or meal delivery.
Our third grade teacher, Chantay Hill, was selected as the 2024 Salina Public Schools Elementary Teacher of the Year. Kindergarten teacher, Leah Anguiano, received the Teacher Appreciation award for the month of February.
Our after-school program, OSCAR Academy, provided additional math and reading instruction for students. Gains of 27 percent and 25 percent on the BAS assessment (reading), from start to end of the 2022-2023 school year, were seen in Grade 1 and Grade 3, respectively. Third and fourth grade reading and math scores improved over the previous year scores.
We are excited about the possibilities that await us – and the greatness we will grow – in school year 2023-2024!