Beth Jaime serves a dual role at Bryant Public Schools. She serves as both the Parent Center Coordinator and the District Military Education Coordinator. Ms. Jaime organized the district’s first Purple Up Day to honor Bryant’s military families during April the Month of the Military Child.
On Purple Up Day, Ms. Jaime visited a few school campuses to meet some of Bryant’s military children and thank them and their families for all the sacrifices made for our nation.
At Building 600, she visited with two GT Teachers, Mrs. Christy Frost and Mrs. Cherie Grist, who shared their stories and experiences as military children. Mrs. Frost's father, a Navy veteran who spent 20 years in the military, served in Desert Storm in 1990. He is now a retired Lt. Commander. As a child, Mrs. Frost lived in 5 different states in the U.S. Mrs. Grist’s dad, a Staff Sergeant in the US Air Force, was enlisted for 10 years as an instructor of Aircraft Navigational aids. He spent a year in Vietnam and retired afterward.
The BES school secretaries, Ms. Tanya and Ms. Stacey, did an excellent job gathering the school’s military children. Mrs. Crawford, BES/BMS ESOL teacher, helped take funny photos of students and staff dressed for the 80s with the cool purple concept integrated into their wardrobes.
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Collegeville was the next stop. Assistant Principal Vicki Carter, along with school secretary, Mrs. Tonya, took group pictures of the school’s military children. Mrs. Jaime visited with the students as the photo session took place.
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During the visit to Parkway Elementary, school secretary Mrs. Verdell helped Ms. Jaime locate and photograph military students. Ms. Jaime enjoyed visiting with some of her ESOL peers at the school!
The BJHS team helped Ms. Jaime take a group picture with one of our young military boys.
At Bryant High School, Ms. Jaime stopped at Building 15 where Mrs. Leaton and Student Senate members provided boxes full of goodies for Henry boys. Mrs. Henry,a biology teacher at BHS, is the spouse of a deployed serviceman. The boys enjoyed their special treat. What a thoughtful way to encourage the Henry family!
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At the end of the school day, Ms. Jaime found Andrew Rodriguez, the AFJROTC NCO teacher. The two talked a bit about our roles and how to support next year’s Month of the Military Children campaign.
Even though Ms. Jaime was not able to visit all of the campuses, the schools took many photos of children, school staff, and parents dressed in purple. The schools expressed different ways of showing their respect and honoring our families. Way to go Bryant School District!
Special thanks goes to Wendy Garcia, Community Liaison, for her skills as photographer and videographer. Ms. Jaime is very thankful for the opportunity to serve our students and their families. Go Hornets!
