East Central Reporter

Main Street Elementary School and Kindergarten Center is focusing on developing students' social, emotional, and academic skills to prepare them comprehensively for college, careers, and life. Principal Ryan Scott emphasizes the significance of teaching these skills, as they are not inherent but learned through active practice and feedback.

Principal Scott explained, "Effort and endurance are crucial," highlighting the importance of students experiencing challenges and persisting through them. "GRIT can be 'grown.' You need a few opportunities in your life where you experience struggle or maybe even failure and you don't give up," he stated. He further elaborated that the school sometimes designs classroom challenges to build this resilience, encouraging students to embrace difficulties with a positive attitude: "We want students that face a challenge and 'puff out their chest.'"

The underlying philosophy at the institution promotes a belief that "there is nothing someone else can learn that you can't," fostering a culture where students do not give up easily.

For March 2025, Main Street recognized its GRIT students, chosen through a process involving both teacher and staff observation and peer input. The initiative's March focus is sponsored by Dairy Queen and its owners, Kirankumar and Sunita Patel.

The GRIT Student-Leaders acknowledged for March 2025 include students from grades 1 to 3 and selected kindergartners, celebrated for demonstrating the school's values of persistence and resilience.

The full list of students, divided by class groups and rows in the photo, are recognized, including recognition of students not pictured. This initiative supports the school's mantra: "Be Nice; Work Hard."