Principal's Corner

September 2026

Welcome to the 2026-2027 school year!  We had a special start to the year, welcoming Grant’s “Centennial Class”, the Class of 2030, to our Bulldog Community in August.  In addition to this milestone for our school and community, we experienced enthusiastic students and parents arriving for Material Pick-up days, Big Dawg Training, Freshman Orientation, Parent University, Fall Athletics Night, the Welcome Back Pep Assembly, and Back to School Night!  These events combined serve as a reminder of how special our school is and how special it is to me to be a leader of our school in our community.  I could not be more excited to start the school year and work together to accomplish our purpose of being the best school for our students and a source of pride for our community.

This year, as a school community, we will be focusing on the theme of “Leave Your Print” as we emphasize engagement in our school and in our community.  At Freshman Orientation, our Class of 2030 was challenged to join one club or activity to start their school year.  As part of the Freshman Orientation program, we included our Athletics and Activities Fair, which had previously been a standalone event in April.  Our students had the opportunity to meet with club sponsors, directors, and coaches as part of the morning program.  We repeated this message at our Welcome Back Pep Assembly and hope that all students choose to engage in an activity or sport.  Research shows that the more connections students have to the school, the better their academic outcomes, attendance, and behavior.  We are encouraging students to engage in these opportunities to get the most out of their experience at Grant Community High School.  Additionally, involvement in these organizations helps students meet important career-ready indicators which, in part, qualify them for Distinguished Bulldog and Bulldog Scholar recognition.  

We are also emphasizing the importance of engaging in the classroom with our students this year.  We are challenging our students on a daily basis to prepare themselves to excel beyond Grant Community High School.  As we strive to help students succeed academically, we do so to open more doors for them beyond Grant Community High School.  An ACT score of 22 on Reading and Math tests meets the academic indicators for Distinguished Bulldog and Bulldog Scholar criteria.  While ACT scores remain important for postsecondary placement, Pre-ACT scores are important for our students who are considering taking Dual Credit classes.  Meeting academic indicators is important at every level, and showing growth through MAP testing continues to be of importance.  Daily work across our curriculum prepares our students to meet their goals and open doors for them, while also preparing them for testing.  Together, as a school community, we can reiterate the importance of staying engaged in the classroom and how that can lead to incredible opportunities for each of our students.

While engaging with your students in conversation about their day-to-day classwork, practices, and club meetings, we also encourage all parents to engage with Grant as partners.  We encourage each parent to stay connected with their student’s progress through Qmlativ, Schoology, and SchooLinks.  Parents have access to all three platforms and can follow student progress using these platforms.  If you need help with access to these platforms, please contact our Technology Department.  If you would like to engage in a more hands-on way, please join our Bulldog Booster Club.  The Boosters offer many opportunities for leadership and direct support to our athletics and activities.  We are also always looking for guest speakers, connections for internships, service opportunities, and career exploration activities.  If you think that you can help contribute, please let us know.  It is important for all of us to be engaged as a school community to help our students find success, and there is no limit to what we can accomplish when we are working together. 

On behalf of the entire staff, we look forward to celebrating all of the incredible achievements that our students will accomplish this year!

Go Bulldogs!