When Dr. Terress Monroe took over at Bell Creek Intermediate in August, she knew there would be a lot of work to do right away to get ready for the school year.
Dr. Monroe came to the Bellbrook-Sugarcreek School District with eight years of experience as a principal in the Dayton Public School District, spending the last four years as the principal at Edison Elementary and the four years prior to that as the assistant principal at Belle Haven Elementary.
With that experience, she knew her biggest hurdle would be familiarity.
“I think my biggest challenge has been trying to know the names of every student and staff member as well as all the families,” Monroe said. Not an easy task as there are, on average, about 225 students in each grade level.
Bell Creek has grades three, four and five, meaning Monroe’s goals include nearly 700 students.
Monroe finds every opportunity to be involved, whether it’s pick up or drop off, being at all the events on the playground after hours, taking a large part in the Veterans Day celebration and Pumpkin Auction and so much more.
“Relationships are important,” Monroe said. “You have to make those connections so families will trust that when decisions need to be made that we are making them in the best interest of the students.”
Monroe said her job is made easier because she can trust what is going on in the classroom at any time.
“The easiest thing to do is to walk into a classroom, because I know I am going to see quality instruction and engaging lessons that use the data we have to meet the needs of the students where they are and bring them forward,” Monroe said. “We have classrooms where all the students matter. We have hard-working teachers and clean buildings and conscientious people in our cafeterias who care about how our students nourish themselves. And our ladies out front are kind and friendly and always have smiles when people walk in. It’s an all-hands on deck approach.”
So what’s the next step for Monroe and BCI?
“Mr. (Zack) Cline (BCI’s Assistant Principal) and I will continue to grow our positive school climate. Our academic progress incorporates WIN (What I Need) which is when 100% of our students receive targeted instruction based on their academic growth needs,” Monroe said. “That continues to close learning gaps while every student moves forward.
“All of this work takes support and collaboration from Bell Creek families, teachers and administration across the building and the district.”