Fawn Hollow Elementary School’s main entrance was decked out with balloons and a bubble machine encouraged a festive mood, as administrators and staff waited for buses to arrive for the first day of school Wednesday morning. Then as children stepped off their buses the sky opened up and a pouring rain came down.
Several people opened umbrellas while helping the steady stream of students, who hurried into the building.
Among those welcoming the incoming students, and making sure they went to the right classrooms, were Principal Leigh Metcalf Ances and Superintendent of Schools Joseph Kobza.
“I’m excited and I’m energized,” Ances said. “I think we have some wonderful things happening at Monroe Public Schools. We’ll continue our work with social and emotional learning. We’ll be using the RULER approach and creating classroom charters with all students.”
A classroom charter is an agreement among students on how they will treat one another for a safe, successful school year, according to Ances.
“Our teachers participated in two great days of professional development,” she said. “I’m really thrilled that we’re fully staffed and the people coming here have rich backgrounds with experience and expertise.”
During her time as principal, Ances has seen tremendous growth at Fawn Hollow. In 2020-21, the school had 580 students.
“We are 700 students strong,” she said with a smile. “We’re bigger than ever.”
