October 1, 2025
Dear Bryant Woods Elementary School (BWES) Community,
It is hard to believe this school year began almost six weeks ago. I want to first thank you for your ongoing support and partnership in the educational process for your child(ren). I have been profoundly grateful, as your school leader, to collaborate with you, to ensure that all students receive exceptional educational experiences. It truly takes a village to support all the academic and non-academic needs of our students, and effective home/school partnerships play a critical role in that dynamic.
BWES has a storied history in public education here in Columbia, serving students since 1968. Our close-knit community, prioritizing healthy and effective relationships, has served as a key ingredient to our school's success. Another key ingredient of our school's success is a strong and devoted staff who I have been so impressed with during the first month of school.
Since my arrival to BWES last July, my priority has been to identify key strengths and successes within our school, to build sustainability, while working to identify barriers to student learning and growth, with the aim to eliminate them. With that said, I want to take this opportunity to share some of the successes we have experienced as a school, in just this short timeframe:
- The creation and ongoing implementation of a streamlined and targeted School Improvement Plan, focused on academic and social emotional student growth and well-being.
- Successful Open House and Back-to-School Night events with increased attendance from the prior school year.
- Improved schoolwide attendance of 95.3% overall (as of Monday, September 29), an increase of 3% from the same timeframe last school year. Note, we are well on our way to meeting the statewide goal of 96% average daily attendance.
- Collaborated with the school's key school stakeholders, such as the PTA, to strengthen the home/school partnership and engagement.
- Rebranded our P.A.W.S. schoolwide behavioral program, focused on meeting the social emotional needs for students.
- Partnered with the District Office to transition BWES into a full-service Community School for the 2025-26 School Year.
- Effective administration of DIBELS reading diagnostic assessments in Grades K-5, to determine student reading levels, and create targeted academic programming based on their strengths and needs.
While I am very proud of our school's early successes, I recognize that more work needs to be done to ensure that all students, schoolwide, achieve success. I also realize that our school team cannot do this work alone, and we need your continued engagement and support to maximize student growth.
The next two schoolwide events to engage with us are quickly approaching. Our next monthly PТА meeting will be held virtually on Tuesday, October 14 at 6:30. Also, our school's Annual Title I Night will take place, in person, on Thursday, October 17 at 5:30. I will not only be in attendance at both evening events, but I encourage you to engage with me to strengthen the partnership between school and home, to the benefit of our students.
On a personal note, I entered the field of public education twenty-three years ago, to ensure that all students are afforded quality public educational experiences. As a bi-racial educator of color, who grew up in poverty conditions, and was the son of an immigrant father from Guyana, South America, who emigrated to the US to access the American Dream, education has been a great equalizer for me and my family to lead quality lives. I want the same access and opportunities for each, and every child, and this is what I envision, as we transform Bryant Woods ES into a full-service Community School.
We will continue to provide our school's weekly newsletter, the Bear Facts, with you electronically, to ensure that we are in regular communication with you about what is happening at our school.
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to share some critical thoughts with you. Again, together, we will ensure a great school year for OUR students.
With appreciation,
Khaleel S. Desaque, Ed.D.
Principal