The students, parents, faculty, and staff at Dana Road have had a wonderful start to the school year. The school has benefitted so much from our community and the support we’ve been given. The four areas below are a sampling of examples of this support. We can’t possibly say, “Thank You” enough to everyone who has given of his or her time, energy, funding and encouragement to help us make Dana Road better every day.
We have begun implementation of The Leader in Me with lots of enthusiasm from our students and faculty. Our building has a whole new look due to many hours of work and painting by parents, students, teachers and Americorps teams. Students are learning the seven habits in class daily as well as through our new character education class. They are beginning to take on leadership roles in class and building-wide. Students will soon begin to lead our parent meetings and leadership days. It has been a great motivator for our school. The generous support of the Vicksburg Warren County Chamber of Commerce has made this possible.
We have also benefitted from the generosity of the local Americorps. Dana Road received a grant providing our school with a team of eight Americorps members from Sept. 29 through Nov. 14. These members provide tutoring, mentoring, building beautification, office assistance, support for our school and students. We have also received additional support from Americorps through volunteer hours this past summer and this school year. These young adults have given their time and energy to help us improve our building.
Our PTO organization has set a goal this year to raise funds to provide our students with a new playground. This is of great importance to the students. They are looking forward to having new equipment that is fun, while the teachers are excited to have a more child friendly and safer area for recess.
Several local churches have also helped our students and teachers in many ways. We have volunteers who mentor, read to classes, create materials for classes, provide funds for field trips and offer time for school projects. These volunteers are invaluable. They show our students how important it is to give back to your community, and we value that lesson above all.
We are so proud to have this level of community involvement at Dana Road. Our goal is not only to educate every child, but also to make sure they understand the importance of being a benefit to their community.
•
Sherrie Williams is principal of Dana Road Elementary School and can be reached by phone at 601-619-2340.